Count It All Joy
I have a lot of perks in my life, and one of them is getting to work at the same place as my friend. It’s cool because if we want to meet up for lunch, all we have to do is walk to the same picnic table and sit. As I sat down with her this past Friday, I immediately started apologizing to her. I saw her in a meeting the day before, and I felt like I had a weird face.
“I hope I didn’t look mean! I thought about it all day, and then I spiraled!”
I said in one anxious breath.
I watched my friend’s eyes grow wide, and she shook her head.
“What!? Oh no, always think the best!”
I laughed because I’ve never heard anyone say that phrase in this context. I also laughed because I realized… I don’t ever considered thinking the best. After I got done laughing, my friend reiterated to stop thinking so negatively.
I find it easy to allow my brain to mull on the negative, especially when it comes to people. “What if I’m annoying?” “What if they’re hanging out with me out of pity?” My current health problems haven't made it easier because I constantly feel like a burden of bad news. “Maybe if my body was normal…” is where those thoughts tend to go. When I pondered on the phrase my friend said, I quickly found out it was harder than I anticipated. What if I just had joy?
Getting stuck in a spiritual rut is common for all Christians, even the more optimistic ones. God made joy one of the most obtainable fruits of the spirit, yet we make it the hardest to maintain. I can be sad or mad about something for days, but it feels like when something good happens, I quickly let it slip my mind. I can think of a million ways something can go bad, but only a handful of ways something can go well. If I’m being honest, focusing on the best can be scary.
Humans hate being let down. We hate hyping something up, just for it to turn out sour. It’s also way more fun to sit around and think about impossible scenarios with your friends, then focus on the reality. That sounds horrible, but you have to admit, we love thriving in the drama of it all. It might make a good story, but it doesn’t actively move forward in our faith.
If I sound like a cringy broken record, I’ll let you know that I tested this out this morning. I had a doctors appointment, and I had been dreading it all weekend. But I gave thinking the best the benefit of the doubt. You know what guys? It worked. Now I didn’t feel like I had my enitre life together. I still shed some tears from stress, my body was still tired, and unfortunately I still had to go to work. But what I did have was a spiritual crutch. Almost as I was being carried by the Father. All because I thought the best of my situation.
Thinking the best doesn’t mean you’re dismissive of your problems. Thinking the best can be as simple as saying “God, I don’t know, but you do, and that’s all I have right now.” Thinking the best can be another way of expressing your weaknesses to God. Which as much as your flesh wants you to think the opposite, there is great strength in expressing your weakness. After my appointment, I walked to the car and called my husband. This was the first appointment in a while that I was able to have joy. I didn’t need a set plan for me to feel safe. All because my friend told me to think the best. I find it fitting that her name is Joy.
Until next time friends!
Kyrie Eleison- Lord have mercy upon us
Agnus Dei- Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace