Ever feel as if you finally have two of your thousand ducks in a row and you rejoice?

Finally! You have accomplished something! Got something right and you enjoy it!

Or look at someone else’s life and think, man they have it all.

Maybe their kids are older and you think, they have it easy now (not true) or they just have a nicer house or more money than you.

Guess what. None of the above ensures joy. None of the riches or ages or stages of kids or nicer houses guarantee joy.

These last six months have thrown me (and my family) some real doozies. I won’t go into all of the details because some of the stories aren’t mine to tell. But think car accidents. Multiple. Health Issues. Loss of housing. Loss of job. Red and blue flashing lights in the driveway. Yep. You can just imagine it all.

All of these circumstances have made me want to crawl into bed and shut down. I won’t.  Ephesians 6 talks about putting on the armor of God and there is that little phrase ‘do all the crisis demands and stand firm’. Not crumple in a heap on the floor. Durn.

Often we think that as soon as this age and stage passes, we can be joyful.

After this crisis is over, I can enjoy my life.

This isn’t the best approach.

Jesus said:

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].- John 10:10

Jesus came so that we might enjoy our life. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived said that there was nothing better than for us to ‘rejoice and do good’.

Joy is something we must fight for. Enjoying our lives is a full time job. Maybe you can’t enjoy everything, but you can enjoy something.

Here’s some things from my joy list:

• laughing at some of the ways toddlers say words  (with Amerey and Carly, caught on film and locked in the memory vault).
• walking with a friend (Lori) even when I walk her legs off and talk her ears off
• reading an old classic The Robe, because I can even if it is just a few pages before I fall asleep.
• making lists of outside jobs to do because it’s spring! (Clean out the sandbox).

What’s on your joy list? How are you fighting for joy?