How to Find the Joy in Your Day { preaching to myself }

It’s a cold cloudy morning.

This is how the week starts.  The kids are off from school and I’m reminded to give thanks.  

I have been struggling some this month with keeping my eyes on Him.  I know that everything is a gift and that the only way to drown out the darkness is to give thanks to Him.  Giving thanks to Him makes the light shine brighter.  It shines brighter in me and around me.  But, for whatever reason it has been easier for me to hold on to grudges and bitterness than to give thanks.  So I have to lean in more to Him and get His help.

Sometimes I feel like I can do it all -that I don’t need His help.  Surely I can turn my bitterness into joy by myself.  

I move through the day doing chores…laundry, cleaning, cooking, more cleaning, and doing homework.

In my morning daily devotion, I read that Job loses everything he loves and his first response is to give thanks.  What?  He loses everything and gives thanks?  I am sure that my first response would not be giving thanks.  I can’t even move into a new week without finding the strength to whisper thanks – at least it seems that way.  But, to give thanks after losing everything?  

 

The printer keeps printing off pages of 5 year old thoughts. This is what my son likes to do right now.  He likes to type sentences on his computer and print them off.  This one day, I think he printed off 20 pages of two to three sentences.  “The dog is blue. My Mommy is the best!”  He’s having a blast.  I finally told him that he couldn’t print anymore today.  After a little while, he came back to me and begged to print just one more.  “Please Mommy, just one more time?  This one is really important and it’s for you.”  How can I say no to that?  I told him that he could print just one more time.  

As I was sitting in the office finishing up an email, the printer started printing.  My little man came running down the stairs saying, “Let me read it to you, Mommy!”  He pulled the paper off and read me this:  “I can see our JOY.  His name is Jesus.  He is the Son of God!”

My five year old sends me this sweet message.  Stop focusing on the negative or the problems or the hurts or the anger or the bitterness.  Focus on Jesus – our joy.  

I love how God says to me, “Okay Michelle, you aren’t hearing Me – so listen to your son.  Listen to his message to you.  Yes, let him print off one more page because this is really important.  Hear Me through my gift to you.”  

I get it…thank You for the message.  Thank You for Your Son.  Thank You for my son and his sweet message to his Mommy.

I can see our joy…and His name is Jesus.  I see Him in the eyes staring back at me.

The sun is shining – it’s no longer cloudy – message received.

  

 

“You defeat your dark when thanksgiving is your default.” Ann Voskamp