Are you happy?
Am I happy?
What does it even mean to be happy?
Some days, it's a good nap. Some days, it's waking up. Some days, it's a good book... a hug... a win...
Happiness is largely circumstantial. True joy, though, is in Christ, and we can be joyful even when we aren't happy.
I long for true joy, the joy that Paul talks about when he says he has learned to be content in all things.
Joy is from the Holy Spirit, but it can be learned.
A few years ago, I read 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I still relish the message of that book. Joy in everyday. Joy in troubles. Joy because everything is a gift.
I count those joys, write them down, though not as faithful as I should be.
Today I ran across a hashtag on facebook. A couple of my friends had been posting using it, and it made me curious, so I looked it up. Basically, this guy was feeling depressed, and all of his friends and family couldn't understand it.
Isn't that just like family and friends?
Or maybe they were just being brutally honest...
Because sometimes we can't see how good we have it.
Sometimes, counting our blessings is as easy as looking around...
But in today's world of facebook and pinterest and instagram where everyone lives in a white-washed world, it's also sometimes hard to count blessings when you look around.
If I'm not careful, I can camp out in the "have-not" or "if I" or "should be" campgrounds and completely miss out on life's journey.
So, back to the hashtag... his friends and family were all like, "Dude, what's up? You've got things so good" so he RESOLVED to look around and look within and focus on the good.
He resolved to have 100 happy days.
See, attitude is a habit and if we foster happiness it will eventually become our norm. Eyeore's can turn into Tiggers.
For the next 100 days, God willing, I'll be using the hashtag #100happydays.
Maybe you might join me. I'll be posting on facebook and instagram.
Looking for the good and learning to be content, because there is always good.
No comments:
Post a Comment