JOY is a choice. It is not always easy to live a joy filled life and I know that at times, I let my stubbornness get in the way of feeling complete joy. You know how it is - you are in a grumpy mood over something (often something trivial) and you choose to be grumpy over looking at things from a different perspective and choosing joy.
I read a recent devotion where this little story was recounted:
A little boy was overheard talking to himself as he strutted through the backyard, a baseball cap on his head and a ball and bat in his hand. He was muttering, "I'm the greatest hitter in the world!" Then he tossed the ball in the air, swung at it, and missed. "Strike one!" He picked up the ball, threw it into the air, and said to himself, "I'm the greatest hitter ever!" He swung at the ball again. "Strike two!" He paused, examined his bat and ball and threw the ball into the air, missing a third time. He cried out, "Wow! I'm the greatest pitcher in the world!"
It really is a matter of having a right attitude. A master of perspective. A matter of whatever your situation, choosing JOY. The pursuit of joy is a matter of choice and our outlook in life. Joy is not the result of our life circumstances. And the circumstances of our life don't have to be reflected in our outward circumstances. No matter what the difficulties we are going through, we can still choose joy.
This past week I was reading about a dear lady I know who is undergoing chemo for pancreatic cancer. June is a beautiful and strong woman. The fight she is facing is not easy but she has a strong faith and a strong support of family and friends behind her. She recently shared about her chemo treatments and journey she is on. Despite it being one of the most challenging times in her life she shared about a necklace that was a gift from a friend that says, "A friend knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words." I love the testimony of friendship that comes from that quote.
She also shared that on her stronger days she wants to live and use every moment to the maximum and shares a quote from Erma Bombeck, "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'" June reminded us to pursues life using our talents with the people who cross our path and to not just make "good" choices but to make "great" choices since we don't know what lies ahead in our journey. We only know that faith, hope, and love remains and the greatest of these is LOVE! And June ends by reminding us to spread our love around to others in our life. June is such a blessing. Please pray for her as she comes to mind. And take her words to heart. We each have our own battles but we need to choose joy each day and spread love.
My JOY ~ My LOVES!
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