I did just that in the quiet of my house and on the pages of my journal. I thanked the Lord for restoring and renewing me and committed to letting others see and know of my joy throughout the day. I closed my Bible & my journal and went to the laundry room to get my workout clothes to go for my morning run.
I quickly realized it was raining, so in my head I thought, "I'll just stay inside and lift weights instead." But upon opening the laundry room door, I found water everywhere! We live in an old house and occasionally find leaks in strange places. The laundry that was hanging clean (from the day before) was now dripping! ARG!!!
I quickly rescued the other clothes that had not yet received the rain. Needless to say, by the time all was saved my workout time had passed. It was now time to get the day going towards breakfast & school. I wanted to forget my committment to be joyful and just lash out! But I didn't. I kept my cool and focused on the verses I had just read.
In fact, as I was beginning to stew about the rain and the laundry (that I'm now going to have to RE-WASH) I thought about the women in Jerusalem that day. The day they were all standing around the newly constructed wall - celebrating and praising the Lord for His restoration. I wondered if they were experiencing similar things as I had just encountered.
Something like:
"I know we have to be at the wall to sing - but dinner is not ready and we can't find our son's sandals!"
or
"Yes, I will be there with a smile on my face and I will thank our God for bringing us home... but we're still unpacking and I can't even find a decent dress to wear!"
I know this isn't written in scripture, but somehow I think something like this could have been possible. And yet - all we read about it how they took time to show their joy. So in my moment of frustration - I decided to chose joy instead. And this is what the power of Christ looks and feels like!
How do you choose joy on days like this?
How do you stop yourself from sinking and rise above instead?
How do you choose joy no matter what's around you?
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