Putting It To Work: Fighting for my JOY

I just had a looooooooooong and challenging day (often these are the days I refer to as fabulous, trying to call that which is most definitely not as though it might possibly become).  You know the kind I mean, right?  One of those days that starts out well, you get a lot accomplished, and then all of a sudden life gets derailed.  You might not be able to pin point exactly how it happens, but you can definitely see it all spinning out of your control.  That was my Tuesday.


And the irony of it all is that I have been meditating on joy, studying joy, trying to institute joy.  And I had to FIGHT for every single ounce of joy I could wring from the day.


We got up and got started with no hiccups at all.  We had lunch and it started to get a little dicey with the sibling dynamic at that point, but I held out hope that if I persevered we could skirt any major incidents.  Then we hit the grocery store and it was just a tad bit harrier than I would have liked.  Apparently Lil Bit was unimpressed as well because he decided to give all of Walmart a demonstration of the impressive strength of his vocal chords.  By the time we made it home, I was wiped.  Physically, mentally, even emotionally.


My kids looked at me eagerly and asked if we could read a story and I snapped, "NO."  And their little smiles fell and their shoulders slumped.  And I realized that my lack of joy was translating out of my heart and into theirs.  I was NOT okay with that.


So I told them Mommy was sorry for being a grouch and that I was going to control my emotions and choose to be joyful.  I also told them I was having a hard time doing that because I hadn't spent any quiet time with God yet and that always makes it harder for me to put my trust in Him enough to be joyful in all things.  We turned on the worship music they keep in the CD player in their room and had some God time.  It was awesome!  I held Lil Bit and danced, the Princess literally fell on her little 7 year old face and cried out to God, and Lil Man sat with his back against his dresser and just shared with God what was on his heart.


All of the sudden, the world seemed a little less overwhelming and the joy seemed a little easier to hold onto.  It is awesome to me how time spent in God's presence changes everything else.  And just as I was about to tell them it was time to hop into bed for their afternoon rest, Lil Man began to pray out loud: 


‎"Dear God, thank you that YOU are the God who lives forever and never dies. Well, except for that time on the cross when you died, but thanks for that, too. I'm glad you're alive now. Thank You. Amen."


After that, who could help but smile?  I mean, really.  


I shared this with you to encourage you.  It's not all about being a perfect parent, nor is it about always getting it right.  It's rarely easy and never without effort.  But it is about being real and discipling our kids, teaching them by our example how to live.




By the way, after all of this, the power went out, my cell phone battery died, I lost the computer work I had been doing, and a few other things went "off."  But by that time I had my joy firmly grasped and it wasn't that big of a deal.  God provided everything we needed!  He always does.