Motivational Monday – Joy

 

“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?