“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1
Thessalonians 5:16 – 18
Each year I decide on a word of the year as a mindset for
guiding my daily walk. My word for this year is joy. I was deciding between a
couple of words, then a colleague gave a coffee mug for Christmas, with one
single word on it – Joy. Aaah, joy would be my word.
One sunshiny but cold winter day, I sat at one of my
favorite writing spots working on a few projects. Sipping Hazelnut coffee and
eating chicken with wild rice soup, along with a Fugi Apple salad, I was
feeling energized. I outlined my blog post about finding joy even while going
through frustrating situations.
The outline included tips on ways to experience joy. A few
hours later, satisfied with what I’d accomplished during my writing session, I
bundled up and headed home. I turned on the car radio; I know a radio may sound antiquated
to some people, but I still use mine in this age of XM radio.
YouTube Video Credit: Commodores - Brick House Audio
I don't own the rights to this song.
The DJ was playing a throwback from the 1970’s – Brick House
by the Commodores. I blasted the volume and had my own car concert going. I was
moving my shoulders and bouncing my head to the beat of the music. My energy
remained high…until I attempted to pull into my driveway.
The snow removal folks (whomever they were) had cleaned my street
and pushed all the snow in front of my driveway. I thought I could drive over
it. My tires began spinning, I put the car in reverse, got a little traction, drove
forward again, the car moved a little further into the driveway, then stopped.
The tires were spinning again with no forward movement. My joy was fading fast.
I got out of the car, grabbed a shovel from the garage, and
began chopping at the snow around my tires. I bent my legs like one does when
completing a squat as part of an exercise routine. Scooping chunks of snow, the
size of small boulders, I tossed them to the other side of the driveway. Finally,
I was ready to get behind the wheel of the car again.
Once behind the wheel of the car, I shifted into reverse and
the car began to move over a stretch of solid packed snow. Then I heard a loud ripping
sound and stopped immediately. I got out of the car and saw that my front
bumper was ripped out of place and my car sat halfway in the street.
A neighbor drove slowly past then backed up and asked if I
needed help. Looking dejected, I said, “No, I just messed up my car. I’ll call
my son.” To say my spirit was deflated is an understatement. I went into the
house, flopped down into an armchair near my front window and hoped no one
would hit my car. And if they did, oh well, there was nothing else I could do
at that moment.
Joy – was evasive at
that moment. Hours earlier I was bubbly and upbeat, writing about how to have
joy. Now thrown into a situation where I needed to follow my own advice. It was
not easy. My best advice at that moment was to first breathe and be still. I
had to remind myself not to sweat the things I can’t control. Still not easy.
As I sat and waited for my son, I pulled out the notes I had
planned for this blog post. Here are five ways to find joy amid difficulties:
1.
Notice one thing that didn’t go wrong today.
2.
Choose joy even though everything isn’t figured
out.
3.
Text someone for no other reason than to say, “thinking
of you.”
4.
Take a walk and wave at random people like you
know them.
5.
Rest without earning it – no need to justify why
you want to rest, just do it.
What do you do to find joy when it tries to evade you?
