Choosing Joy - Part 2

Choosing Joy - Part 2

By Megann Graf

This morning I had the chance to walk my son to school.  It was so nice out, and he was in a good mood (two pluses that don’t happen often!  Haha!)  So, we walked and talked about rattles snakes, and speed bumps that look bigger when you’re walking then when you’re driving, and about how he felt like he was hiking because he had on short sleeves and a backpack.  (I don’t know where these things come from people, this is just the mind of an 8 year old!)  We got to school and I had to ask for my kiss goodbye because he was going to run right in, but he came back and smooched me.  I walked away thinking that this was joy.  That just enjoying that moment is choosing joy over the million other things I could be fretting over.  And, I thought how it’s funny how humans (at least those living in the northeast) need days like this to feel the sun and breath the fresh air and remember that renewal is possible.  Even a store clerk told me that people were nicer when the weather was nice.  Funny how God uses so much of His creation to affect us and teach us. 

So, it was a lovely walk back to my house, thinking all these nice thoughts, and saying hi to other neighbors who seemed equally satisfied with the beautiful morning and grateful for a refreshing walk.   And then, it came.  Poop.  That’s right, poop.  Dog poop.  I was walking, and it was right there in the middle of the sidewalk, and I literally laughed out loud.  Why, laugh, you ask? 

Because, let’s face it, when we choose joy, we have to know that sometimes crap comes along, right in our path and out of no where.  We have to know how to deal with it.  We have to watch out for it.  We have to not allow the crap to get in the way of our joy.  (And, for goodness sake, try not to step in it!)  I never thought that I would be writing to you about how God made a lesson to me out of poop, but He does have a sense of humor.  The only way to deal with all the crap that life brings, and to deliberately choose joy, is to be in God’s word, to be in communication with Him daily, or hourly!  And to know that He wants to teach us how to live joyfully even when life is crappy.

So, today, as you breathe the fresh air, and you feel the sunshine and warmth and get a sense of renewal, not just in the season, but in your Spirit, take time to see the good.  Choose to be joyful about just one thing.  It’s likely that you might come across some crap in your path.  But, maybe you can laugh at it too.  Maybe God put it there to teach you something.  And, maybe, if you can find happiness through the crappiness, you might have just chosen joy.