"For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who take it," - Matthew 7:14
I talk a lot about choosing joy. Choosing to find joy in the hard times, choosing joy to get through struggles, choosing joy to be closer to God, and choosing joy to enjoy the little moments. But, what I haven't talked a lot about is how hard it is to choose joy sometimes.
It's those days you feel like a failure, those days when you get into a fight with someone you care about, those days you feel unaccomplished and like no one in this big world. Well the "gate" is your choices and the "road" is your life. Life is hard. We've heard it said a million times before, but how do we move on, keep marching, get up again?
First things first, we have to take some advice from the very own Miley Cyrus, "It's the climb." If you're always striving to "get somewhere" or accomplish something, you're always going to be disappointed. If your life goal is anything besides serving God and loving others, you are going to be disappointed. Cause it's pretty simple: true joy can only come from God.
"Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength," - Nehemiah 8:10
How do we find that joy through God? There are days it's really hard. There are days you will be sick in bed with a fever stressing about the chores piling up while you're out of commission. The days you'll break down in tears because you're so heartbroken to loose somebody. The days that seem to go by more mundane and boring than the day before. My number one rule is to always have a grateful heart. When you're grateful and appreciative of all you have, it's easier to find joy.
Every night as a part of my bible time and reflection, I make a gratitude list. I aim to fill up one page in my journal each night about the things I am grateful for the past day. Some days it's really easy to list off my gratefulness for being able to go on cool adventures or hang out with a sweet friend. Some days, I have to really push myself to fill even half a page. While, I have gotten better with practice, there are still days I have to really work to find the gratefulness in my heart.
Here's an example: Over spring break I got my wisdom teeth removed. My surgery had a few complications and I was in a lot of pain. While my friends were off sending me pictures of the beaches in Hawaii and Florida, I was in pain, in bed, in my house. I was pretty miserable. Here was my gratitude list that night: 1) my mom taking care of me by making food and checking up on me. 2) Nurse Sue giving me and mom advice on how to handle the pain and make me as comfortable as possible. 3) My brother being nice and concerned for me. 4) Beautiful spring day.
Ok, so yes, that was a short list and maybe I wasn't as grateful as I should have been that day, but my point is sometimes your gonna have days like that. You're gonna have to push yourself time and time again to CHOOSE JOY. But keep marching sweet friends. You got this, continue to choose joy!
I talk a lot about choosing joy. Choosing to find joy in the hard times, choosing joy to get through struggles, choosing joy to be closer to God, and choosing joy to enjoy the little moments. But, what I haven't talked a lot about is how hard it is to choose joy sometimes.
It's those days you feel like a failure, those days when you get into a fight with someone you care about, those days you feel unaccomplished and like no one in this big world. Well the "gate" is your choices and the "road" is your life. Life is hard. We've heard it said a million times before, but how do we move on, keep marching, get up again?
First things first, we have to take some advice from the very own Miley Cyrus, "It's the climb." If you're always striving to "get somewhere" or accomplish something, you're always going to be disappointed. If your life goal is anything besides serving God and loving others, you are going to be disappointed. Cause it's pretty simple: true joy can only come from God.
"Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength," - Nehemiah 8:10
How do we find that joy through God? There are days it's really hard. There are days you will be sick in bed with a fever stressing about the chores piling up while you're out of commission. The days you'll break down in tears because you're so heartbroken to loose somebody. The days that seem to go by more mundane and boring than the day before. My number one rule is to always have a grateful heart. When you're grateful and appreciative of all you have, it's easier to find joy.
Every night as a part of my bible time and reflection, I make a gratitude list. I aim to fill up one page in my journal each night about the things I am grateful for the past day. Some days it's really easy to list off my gratefulness for being able to go on cool adventures or hang out with a sweet friend. Some days, I have to really push myself to fill even half a page. While, I have gotten better with practice, there are still days I have to really work to find the gratefulness in my heart.
Here's an example: Over spring break I got my wisdom teeth removed. My surgery had a few complications and I was in a lot of pain. While my friends were off sending me pictures of the beaches in Hawaii and Florida, I was in pain, in bed, in my house. I was pretty miserable. Here was my gratitude list that night: 1) my mom taking care of me by making food and checking up on me. 2) Nurse Sue giving me and mom advice on how to handle the pain and make me as comfortable as possible. 3) My brother being nice and concerned for me. 4) Beautiful spring day.
Ok, so yes, that was a short list and maybe I wasn't as grateful as I should have been that day, but my point is sometimes your gonna have days like that. You're gonna have to push yourself time and time again to CHOOSE JOY. But keep marching sweet friends. You got this, continue to choose joy!
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