It's so interesting when God is trying to teach me something, it starts popping up everywhere. The newest? A deeper understanding of God's desire for us to have joy, not just in the eternities, but in the here and now.
The current frustration--the proverbial spilled milk of the moment--is real. You know what I mean, the torn grocery bag whose contents scatter over the garage floor, the child who is being obstinate, the friend, neighbor, family member, co-worker who has misjudged (or is simply hard to be around), the finances that are strained, the hole in the stocking, etc.; those things are a constant in this life. However as I choose to focus on the spilled milk, obsess over the unfairness, get angry at the unkind person, etc., I pull blinders down over my eyes to beauty and strangle my ability to see or feel or savor or be grateful for what God is giving me right now.
2 Ne 2: 25 aAdam bfell that men might be; and men care, that they might have djoy.
I LOVE that verse. God's plan for us is to find joy. How beautiful is that?
Choosing to look at the downside is working at cross purposes with God--never a winning prospect--and, I think, a direct refusal of God's gifts. Hmmm. Gonna have to think some more about that one.
I have been on my own journey of discovery the past week or so, in a simular way! At times I refuse the effects of the greatest gift. both for myself and those around me. The Lord has been very patient with me as I learn. I am hoping to turn off some of the noise of life, In being still, I will hear the whisperings! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteoh, this is good. a year or thereabouts ago, I remember laying awake full of questions about what I should be and what I ought to do, and there was a distinct, command-like answer: be happy.
ReplyDeleteI know God wants me to be happy. what that means is less than easy to figure out... but it's the best place to start, I think. :)
My level of joy is always directly corrolated to how closely I am following what I know the Lord wants me to be doing. The joy is there, all around me in the everyday small things, but if I'm not where I know I should be, I cant's see it. "There were bells..."
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