I love this quote. As I read it today, that word “choice” once again stood out to me. Over the last few years, this journey has given me so many opportunities to meet and share stories with people who are going through challenges in life. Health, relationships, finances, jobs - we all face painful issues that distract and discourage us. And we have choices to make - whether those issues will defeat us or will be used by God to tell a bigger story.
I would never want anyone to think that I am saying “choose joy or you’re doing it all wrong”. The Bible tells us, “to everything there is a season.” There are times when all we can do is cry; when we need to process what is happening; when we are dealing with life or death; when we are mourning. My purpose is to share how we can deal on a daily basis with situations that are life-changing and which, at times, feel overwhelming.
For me, the last month or so has been difficult. From a cancer perspective, things are pretty stable. Side effects from medicine are more pronounced lately - low blood counts, ongoing throat problems, pain, extreme fatigue. Also - I’ve been dealing with the realization that this isn’t going away. That barring a miracle, I will be in some sort of treatment the rest of my life.
No matter what we face, we get to choose - joy or anger, faith or fear, staying the course or giving up. And I am finding more and more that it is a daily - sometimes hourly - choice. We don’t have to wait to see what the day brings. We can decide before we face the day, how we will handle it. Choosing joy is saying “God, I can’t change the circumstances but I can rely on you, the one who has numbered my days, and I will find the good in this day.”
“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalms 118:24 NLT
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