Joy Unending

Happiness can be an elusive thing.  It is a wonderful thing, and it would be great to be happy all the time.  But I know I struggle with this because life is, well, hard.  I don’t really jump with giddiness over the never ending pile of dishes in my sink, and I think I will probably plotz if we have our 54th temper tantrum within the hour.  When life is really bad, as my family has learned all too well this year, sickness comes and loss happens.  To put it mildly, it’s rough.  But the thing is–that’s okay.

Source: Microsoft Office ClipArt Let it all rain down

On this earth, we are not called to be happy all the time.  We are called only to joy: “Rejoice always.  Pray continually.  Give thanks in all circumstances; ^AG)”>for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16.  God can offer us an eternal joy, a hope and a peace that the things of this world belong to Him who is wholly in control.  Pain and suffering are temporary.  And while life may not always feel good, ultimately it always is part of His good plan.  This takes a lot of trust to know that when things are feeling yucky, we can still have joy.  It also takes a lot of grace to let myself distinguish between happiness and joy.  To allow myself to feel sadness while still maintaining a hope in something greater.

And sometimes, when I’m having a really crappy day, it’s also okay to let myself just have a few snorts over how ridiculous things are.  When my daughter misinterprets peanut butter as a fancy form of hair styling gel or my son screams when he accidentally falls off the toilet (hey, potty-training is really hard work, people), I’m not saying I’m embracing happiness per se, but a good eye roll can be very healthy for the soul 😉  

Source: Microsoft Office ClipArt Life won’t always feel like this….but sometimes it will 🙂

In short, I so don’t have this down, but I try, I try to give myself permission to feel all the emotions of this life while keeping my eyes focused on The One who gave me those emotions.  Joy is unending; it does not leave us.

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Meredith

Meredith blogs at The Mom of the Year, where she dedicatedly earns her title one epic parenting fail at a time, offering quick, relatable laughs for fellow parents and all their empathizers. She has been part of several best-selling anthologies, featured on prominent sites such as Huffington Post, In the Powder Room and BlogHer, and loves her role as the Executive VP/Operations Manager of The BlogU Conference. When she's not breaking up fights over Legos and juice boxes, she remains fully committed to sharing a less serious look at the world of parenting.

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