Quick Poll

If a Tornado Warning was issued for Coweta, have you developed a storm plan and 'safe place' in your house in case it strikes?

Blogs

Angela McRae

Tea with friends

Deberah Williams

Everyday Finesse

Lorrie Lynch

Who's News

Published Thursday, June 18, 2009 in Opinion

Stealing joy

It isn't always easy to be joyous.

There are the brief moments when I reach for the telephone; instinctively wanting to tell mom something, and then realize it has been over a year that she passed away.

Sometimes I want to just dash over to see my grandson Asher, but "dashing" would take several hours and quite a bit of juggling on everyone's schedule, so it isn't something I get to do very often.

It is hard to be joyous when I let my daily gunk build up and allow it to be carried from one hour to the next.

A dear friend once gave me encouragement by saying, "Don't let anyone steal your joy." I've added "or anything" to her adage, and have since shared it with many others.

Since my mom's illness, I had to really muster up some "joy" for my family and myself. I had no idea how I would feel about her necessary stay in a nursing home. The visits were difficult until I took a singing bear to her. She lit up as she pressed its paw and watched its head rock back and forth. I lit up too. Joy filled the room.

There were lots of joyful times that followed. Though she spent her last weeks in a hospital bed in the living room of her home, she wore a party hat for dad's birthday. The photos show her smiling and laughing. No one could deny the joy in that.

Dad put her bed facing two glass doors so she was able to watch the birds on the feeders and in the birdbath. She would point and smile, as she talked about the cardinals, blue jays and others that visited. Watching her enjoy the birds gave us a joy that can never be taken away.

It would be so easy to focus on the hard times, the things she had to endure to stay with us just a bit longer, but I'm choosing joy. And I'm not letting anyone or anything steal it. Besides, mom always said to "pick yourself up by the bootstraps." I'm a seasoned bootstrap-picker-upper, and she knew that better than anyone.

While I'm a bit disappointed that we don't see little Asher very often, I am thankful we can see him at all. The little cell phone text pictures his mom sends to me throughout each week are just delightful and I'm thankful for it. When we can't get by to see him, I continue knitting and sewing for him so I can take something special to him. Every single stitch is joyful.

And the daily gunk? Oh, the gunk is indeed there, but it is my choice to wallow in it and spread it on others or keep it from stealing my joy. Truth is, it isn't always hard but it can be done. There are far too many moments in this life to praise God for His blessings, and there's no room for "gunk" in that.

God gave me a friend for a few years that shared her ability to smile and love others, a friend who also honored Him. He puts people in our lives for various reasons, and for me, I'm full of joy to know that no one and nothing can steal the joy that God put in my heart.

Psalm 71:23 tells us, "My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you. I, whom you have redeemed."

Friends, it doesn't get more joyful than that.

Comment On This Story

Times-Herald.com does not necessarily agree with the comments posted below. Responsibility of comments rests solely with the writer. Comments posted in ALL CAPS will be deleted.

Submission of a comment does not guarantee publication. Comments will be posted by a moderator after being scanned for abusive language, relevance, etc. See our Comments FAQ for more details.