Have you ever been going through papers or magazines or boxes and found something that you forgot about? Maybe it was something you didn’t really know was gone but when you found it, you realized it had been missing.
My mom was looking through some boxes the other day and found a baby handkerchief that my aunt had given me when I was born. Her response was “I forgot about that”.
It’s funny how we put things somewhere and forget about them until they are unexpectedly discovered . When we put them in a safe place, we think we will always remember to go back and get them or remember where we put them for future use.
I found myself forgetting where I put my JOY. I seemed to have put it in the box and forgot about it. I have been so caught up in worrying about things and the stress of everyday life that I seemed to have forgotten JOY. This morning as I was having my quiet time, I picked up my daily devotions from the basket and found the 52-week study on JOY that I had purchased from a conference. I had done the study for a few weeks on our return and then it got placed in the bottom of the basket and I forgot I had it.
But God didn’t. He knew that I would need to be reminded to look for JOY at a certain time. He knew I would be overwhelmed with stress and tasks during this time and that I would need a little extra push to find JOY. I was so glad that I looked deeper in the basket and found what I had forgotten… how to find JOY.
If you’ve lost some of your JOY due to the overwhelming stress of daily activities or the worries in your life, dig deeper and start looking harder. God has so many things right under our nose that brings us joy. He doesn’t want to be placed in a box with a lid or under a bunch of books in a basket. He is holding JOY right there in His hands and all we have to do is take it.
It takes 21 days to form a habit according to studies. For the next 21 days I encourage you to thank God each day for something special and do something kind for someone. When we take our focus off of our stress and worries and find gratitude in the things of the Lord and show kindness to someone else, we can’t help but be restored with JOY.
Day #1 – Thankful Journey – I am thankful for my two daughters and that God allowed me to be a mom. We have had a ton of fun over the 26 and 22 years of parks and puzzles, Barbies and basketballs, traveling and toilet papering! Wouldn’t trade those fun times for the world.
Day #1 – Kindness Act – do something special for someone in your household today.
