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Today I Choose JOY!!!

JOY has been on my mind lately. I don't really know why, but I often find that this is the main emotion I am  missing from my daily mood. I have a tendency to focus on what needs to be done that day or what didn't go the way I thought it should go and so on. My biggest problem is probably trying to control other people. I want them to be happy and if they aren't happy or upbeat I take it upon myself to make their day better. This in and of itself is not wrong, however I can not control other people's emotions or their life's. I can't force someone to be happy. Yet, I always find myself stressed out because I am so focused on making them happier. I do it with my family, friends, people I meet, teachers, pretty much everyone. Truth is in some of these situations I am not even the problem. It took me a while (and I am still learning) that just because someone is upset, doesn't mean I am the reason. Through much prayer and study I realized how selfish it really was to think it was me all the time. Because that means when I see someone unhappy the first thought on my mind after that is "me." I have made it a goal to be there for others rather than fix others. Being a listening ear is a lot different than trying change the person. Which I will never succeed at doing anyways.
 

Have you seen the movie Inside Out ? I saw it a week or so ago and it added to my contemplation of Joy.  There is a character in this movie whose name is Joy. She rushes around like a maniac trying to do everything in her power to keep Riley happy. She controls the other emotions to keep Riley happy, she takes extra shifts to keep Riley happy, sometimes she even bends the rules a bit to keep her from being sad. However, when things get out of Joy's control it sends her to a mental break down in the pit of lost memories. I have had several moments where I have had my own mental break down. It's because I was not made to keep everyone I meet happy. I can't control other people as my mom is always telling me. ( maybe after years of hearing this it is finally starting to sink in) All I can do is try to be a person that will listen and care. As much as I might want to I can't fix their problems, just like they can't fix mine. All we can do is support each other. Be each other's "Jesus with skin on" as a lady I know calls it. 



 I also tend to get bogged down with my daily personal life. I am a very scheduled person. I enjoy knowing how my day is going to and what I am going to do. Funny thing is,  life is very unpredictable. Only God knows how my day is really going to go. I can schedule things, however I need to be flexible and have a JOYFUL attitude if my day needs to change. All the little things that make up my "bad days" really aren't as life threatening as the seem in the moment. Life is not going to end just because I didn't complete all 20 items on my to-do list and even when the big storms do blow in, there is always something to be joyful about. At the end of the day my focus should be how wonderful my King has blessed my life. He is the reason I am joyful and he has created this unique, special, one of a kind life just for me. How sad I must make Him when I complain about his gift.


 One of my favorite Christian speakers is Patsy Clairmont. She does a talk on joy. She tells of how happy she is when her grand-kids are around and how "joyful" she is. Then at the end of her talk she says this "My grand-kids add to my joy, not the source of my joy." Christ is the source of her joy. People will disappoint and what do we do then when we have made them our joy giver. However, Christ never disappoints. Christ should be the source of our joy and our friends, family and others who we love can add to our joy.  



 I am guilty of putting people as my source of joy instead of letting them add to my joy. Christ should be at the center of all I do. From waking up in the morning, to my Chemistry test, to my dance class, to when I go to sleep. My focus should be on his blessings that he bestows on me every day and not what went wrong in my meager little world. I have some of the greatest people in the world in my life. But even the people I think will never let me down, might have a bad day of their own and not act as I had written out in my head. Giving all my problems and dreams to God, he will help me find joy everyday. I am going to start writing down at least 5 things that were happy, joyful, or blessings to me that day. Will you do the challenge with me? I am excited to see what God will teach me as I let him show me all the joy he puts in my life. Today and every today after,  I am choosing JOY! 


Comments

  1. lynam duoJanuary 25, 2016 at 2:12 PM

    I needed this. Thank you sis :')

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Erika Laulainen January 25, 2016 at 2:18 PM

      I think we all need it at some point in our lives. It seems like this world loves to suck our joy away.

      Delete
  2. UnknownJanuary 25, 2016 at 3:00 PM

    Love this! I think you are on the right track. <3

    ReplyDelete

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