Holding On to Joy

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Challenge Day: 30

It was New Year's Day and Dan was finishing up dinner when the phone rang. It was his daughter calling to cancel her dinner plans, with her father and brother, for the third year in a row. Dan was upset, he took a deep breath and told her exactly how he felt. After he hung up the phone he said he felt a sense of joy and he that he wasn't going to let anything take that joy away. He said he started a daily inventory of his thoughts and asked God to help him in dealing with his adult children. And he was learning to trust more in God and less in himself. No one can make us happy or take our joy because it's through God that we can experience joy.

So here is how I've been holding on to joy. As I motioned in my last post, I have recently gone through a tough time, but I have seen and felt the love of God. The joy that I'm experiencing is the joy that God is with me. I've come to understand that no matter what I go though I can find peace and contentment in Him. Right know I am dealing with my husband working and living in another state, our house still being on the market, and handling the house and kids all by myself. Though all of that can be stressful, I find peace and joy in that I'm not really alone, God is with me every step of the way. Significance in God had also helped me. When I was younger I always wanted to be a famous actress because I longed for the significance from everyone, even people I had never met. I thought that I would be happy if everyone wanted to be like me or be with me. I wanted everyone to notice me and the things that I did, I wanted to feel special. But something happened the day the Lord blessed me with my children, I realized that I didn't need that to feel happy and complete. I now find joy in being significant to God and my kids. Last year my brother gave me a book marker that I placed in my daily devotional. It has a wonderful message that I recite everyday and consider words to live by.

Contentment is not found in the fulfillment of all your desires and wants. Contentment is found in trusting God and being thankful for all the blessings He bestows.

I feel that society has made us believe that contentment is a bad thing. That we should always want more and desire to be more, but I've come to understand contentment as a joyful feeling. I am happy with my life and what I have. I once knew a person who defined contentment as settling and giving up. Contentment is not about settling, it's about learning to be happy with what you have been given.

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