On the rare occasion that our family sits down at the kitchen table to eat together, we take turns discussing the details of our day. Everyone is asked what their favorite part of the day has been. Answers vary from meal to meal for most of us. One child will reply, “This is.” Another will say, “When I finished school.” I’ve been guilty of answering, “When y’all finished your chores without being threatened.” But one answer is always the same. My youngest son always answers, “All of it!”
Even though it has become the expected response, I can’t help but smile each time Connor makes his declaration. It doesn’t matter how many times he’s been scolded or how many times his older siblings stole his turn on a gaming system. It doesn’t matter how many times he has fallen and scraped up his knees or been unhappy that we’re having beans and rice for supper again. Though he may have complained more than once about said things, he has found true joy in life. Through the good and the bad. Through the misery he brings on himself and that others heap upon him. He has found that true joy is only found in “all of it”.
You can’t pick apart only the best moments of life and choose that those are the ones that make you happy. You will spend your whole life miserable. Happy and special moments are few and far between and most of our life is spent in the mundane tasks that make up our daily lives.
I love this quote by Kay Warren:
“Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life; the quiet confidence that ultimately everything will be alright, and the determined choice to praise God in all things.”
In all that happens in your life today, be encouraged and choose joy!
