Choosing Joy
I recently read a story written by Jeff Olsen called "I Knew Their Hearts." It's an autobiographical account of his experiences surrounding a horrifying car crash that killed his wife & youngest son, while leaving him barely alive. He writes about slipping out and back into this life, and his story is rather touching and important. Without telling his story for him, I will just concentrate on two words of advice and comfort from his story that touched me the most: choose joy.
Sometimes things aren't easy. Whether it's dealing with a boss who's literally losing her mind, figuring out how to make ends meet when pieces are short, or how to heal a broken heart and/or body, these things aren't easy, but they are doable. I've done pretty well in life with not comparing myself to others too much. I understand that my weaknesses up against someone else's strengths is just silly. I know that each person's challenge is unique to that person, and though we may share very similar experiences, my experiences are mine, and mine alone. Same goes for you. With that said though, we are all connected. We are all brothers & sisters in life, each here to learn our lessons.
I think the main theme for my personal lesson involves patience, charity, and choosing joy. Each is connected, but in choosing joy, the other two seem to fall right into place. If my Heavenly Father were to come to me today, what might He say to me? We know that Christ told us in John 14:27 "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." The words "let not" sound like "don't allow" to me. That indicates I have a choice. If I'm being advised to stay away from fear and trouble, then I'm probably being advised to be near safety and peace. This makes me think of the church song "Keep the Commandments." In this hymn, we're advised to "keep the commandments, in this there is safety, in this there is peace." Finally, according to Christ, keeping the commandments will bring joy. {John 15:10-11}
I know that living the commandments will bring about joy. I believe the Lord when He tells me this, and I know I've successfully made it happen in my own life many times. I do not doubt this one bit in my head and in my heart even as I type this right now. But why? Why oh why do I have trouble putting it into practice sometimes? I'm not always a sorry sap who is a bummer or is a morose being. I'm not the most negative person on the block either. (Like my use of 'not' and 'negative' in the same sentence?) In fact, a lot of the time I find solutions rather than problems. But lately, as in the last few years it seems, choosing joy has been hard. I do feel the effects of my environment quite strongly; I'm sensitive. For example, this morning on my way to work, I went through the Chick-fil-a drive-through a few minutes from my house to get the usual 8-count & diet Dr. Pepper with no ice. {only 260 calories, tyvm} While driving into the parking lot, I noticed about ten police vehicles and yellow police tape surrounding the nearby Rally's & part of the Panera parking lot. There was no line whatsoever at Chick-fil-a, so obviously, something was seriously wrong. {here's that story} I asked the window girl what happened, and she said there had been a double homicide sometime in the very early morning. I WAS FLOORED. My heart was breaking. That sting hit my eyes and nose like I was about to cry instantly. Two people were killed. Did they kill each other? Had they been robbed by a third person? Is there a killer on the loose in my neighborhood? Just sick. Just sad. Just heartbreaking. I really struggled with choosing joy this morning. My chicken nuggets were cold. The gas pump was going too slow. Traffic was annoying. My boss smells like onions today. The heat wasn't working properly when I got to work. My rear view mirror is loose again. On and on and on. And then in the quiet, I was reminded. Cruel, sad, disgusting acts are of Satan. I wasn't killed. My family members weren't killed. But sons and/or daughters of God were killed, and that does affect me. Satan is out to destroy my happiness and yours. If he can't pull a literal trigger on me or my family, he'll do whatever he can to see to it that I am affected anyway.
It is clear that I have a choice. I can allow Satan to bring me down, to ruin my day, to break my heart, to make me feel so low that the only thing that may seem reasonable to come out of me is yuckiness too. OR, I can choose to forgive, choose to seek Heavenly Father's advice, choose to follow the commandments, choose to stay close to the Holy Ghost. I can choose joy. It's the best weapon any of us have in this war against good and evil. My day didn't actually start out bad; it started waking up next to the best man on the whole face of the earth: my husband. It started with him telling me to make it a great day. My day started with prayer. It started with feeling safe and loved. I choose to remember that, to hold that most dear. I choose to find, share, and feel joy today. I pray that I choose joy every day.
Sometimes things aren't easy. Whether it's dealing with a boss who's literally losing her mind, figuring out how to make ends meet when pieces are short, or how to heal a broken heart and/or body, these things aren't easy, but they are doable. I've done pretty well in life with not comparing myself to others too much. I understand that my weaknesses up against someone else's strengths is just silly. I know that each person's challenge is unique to that person, and though we may share very similar experiences, my experiences are mine, and mine alone. Same goes for you. With that said though, we are all connected. We are all brothers & sisters in life, each here to learn our lessons.
I think the main theme for my personal lesson involves patience, charity, and choosing joy. Each is connected, but in choosing joy, the other two seem to fall right into place. If my Heavenly Father were to come to me today, what might He say to me? We know that Christ told us in John 14:27 "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." The words "let not" sound like "don't allow" to me. That indicates I have a choice. If I'm being advised to stay away from fear and trouble, then I'm probably being advised to be near safety and peace. This makes me think of the church song "Keep the Commandments." In this hymn, we're advised to "keep the commandments, in this there is safety, in this there is peace." Finally, according to Christ, keeping the commandments will bring joy. {John 15:10-11}
I know that living the commandments will bring about joy. I believe the Lord when He tells me this, and I know I've successfully made it happen in my own life many times. I do not doubt this one bit in my head and in my heart even as I type this right now. But why? Why oh why do I have trouble putting it into practice sometimes? I'm not always a sorry sap who is a bummer or is a morose being. I'm not the most negative person on the block either. (Like my use of 'not' and 'negative' in the same sentence?) In fact, a lot of the time I find solutions rather than problems. But lately, as in the last few years it seems, choosing joy has been hard. I do feel the effects of my environment quite strongly; I'm sensitive. For example, this morning on my way to work, I went through the Chick-fil-a drive-through a few minutes from my house to get the usual 8-count & diet Dr. Pepper with no ice. {only 260 calories, tyvm} While driving into the parking lot, I noticed about ten police vehicles and yellow police tape surrounding the nearby Rally's & part of the Panera parking lot. There was no line whatsoever at Chick-fil-a, so obviously, something was seriously wrong. {here's that story} I asked the window girl what happened, and she said there had been a double homicide sometime in the very early morning. I WAS FLOORED. My heart was breaking. That sting hit my eyes and nose like I was about to cry instantly. Two people were killed. Did they kill each other? Had they been robbed by a third person? Is there a killer on the loose in my neighborhood? Just sick. Just sad. Just heartbreaking. I really struggled with choosing joy this morning. My chicken nuggets were cold. The gas pump was going too slow. Traffic was annoying. My boss smells like onions today. The heat wasn't working properly when I got to work. My rear view mirror is loose again. On and on and on. And then in the quiet, I was reminded. Cruel, sad, disgusting acts are of Satan. I wasn't killed. My family members weren't killed. But sons and/or daughters of God were killed, and that does affect me. Satan is out to destroy my happiness and yours. If he can't pull a literal trigger on me or my family, he'll do whatever he can to see to it that I am affected anyway.
It is clear that I have a choice. I can allow Satan to bring me down, to ruin my day, to break my heart, to make me feel so low that the only thing that may seem reasonable to come out of me is yuckiness too. OR, I can choose to forgive, choose to seek Heavenly Father's advice, choose to follow the commandments, choose to stay close to the Holy Ghost. I can choose joy. It's the best weapon any of us have in this war against good and evil. My day didn't actually start out bad; it started waking up next to the best man on the whole face of the earth: my husband. It started with him telling me to make it a great day. My day started with prayer. It started with feeling safe and loved. I choose to remember that, to hold that most dear. I choose to find, share, and feel joy today. I pray that I choose joy every day.
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