I was reminded this morning by several Facebook posts I read that joy is a choice. I have to confess that I needed that reminder today because, if I can just be honest here, I'm having a really hard time getting going this morning, the Monday morning after "spring forward weekend". I'm feeling more like we sprang forward several hours, or like we skipped a whole night of sleep instead of just that one hour. I'm not sure exactly why I'm dragging so much today, but I am.
Maybe it was the busyness of the weekend. A whirlwind trip to Greensboro for AJ's birthday party. Then we lost that hour of sleep, got up and went to church, had a quick lunch together before we went in opposite directions.....AJ and Brandon went to baseball practice and we headed back home so Al could get packed and ready for a week of meetings at corporate headquarters in Atlanta. It all felt pretty rushed, so maybe that's part of my problem this morning.
Or maybe it's the dreary gray skies I see this morning as I look out the window. The clouds rolling across the sky are really beautiful, but even so, somehow gloomy skies and Monday mornings don't equal an energetic Susan!
Maybe it's just that I really, really hate this whole "spring forward" business. Is it too much to ask that we just keep the clock the same all year round? I really don't care which way we keep it - whether "standard" or "daylight saving" - but I just wish we could pick one or the other and leave it alone!
Even as I list out all the possible reasons I'm dragging this morning, I am remembering those Facebook posts I read a little earlier. Many people, far more than just those I know personally, are dealing with some difficult stuff this morning. Grief. Illness. Financial strain. Just to name a few. And as I read their posts, one in particular, I was reminded this morning that sometimes we have to choose joy. It doesn't just come naturally or automatically, but is an act of the will, a conscious choice. Not because of circumstances, but in spite of circumstances.
This morning I'm thankful to my friends for their Facebook posts and for giving me the reminder I needed. Sometimes we all need reminders, don't we? I'm thankful that the Lord can use things that often seem trivial or insignificant, even Facebook posts and bloggers, to give us the reminders we need. I'm thankful that I have been reminded this morning that even on days like this one, on days that are gloomy and gray and dreary and on days that start very slowly, I have a choice. I can choose to let the weather, or the day of the week, or the time change, dictate my attitude. Or I can choose joy in spite of all that, and in spite of any other circumstances that might drag me down.
So this Monday morning, I choose to stop complaining. I choose to have a positive attitude. I choose to focus on my blessings. I choose joy!
"Do everything without complaining." (Philippians 2:14 NLT)
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