A few weeks ago I read this post by Beth B., over at Perspective of Love . Immediately I knew what my word for the year was – JOY. I didn’t even have to think about it. That was the word God had laid on my heart for two weeks prior to reading that post. Last year was not the easiest year for me. I was working a lot of weekends, chasing two kids under the age of two during the week (that had opposite nap schedules until a month ago), and I was utterly exhausted for months at a time. I honestly feel that I didn’t stop and see the JOY in my days enough though. God has given me lots of blessings to enJOY.
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation,” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” Philippians 2:14-15
Even worse, I didn’t often take the time to share with others the JOY of having God in my life and the ways that I have been blessed.
Just today I made a rare phone call to see about getting my car serviced for a recall on the headlights. I say rare because if I can’t text you, I’m probably not going to call you. This has nothing to do with an aversion to talking on the phone and everything to do with my children screaming hysterically and climbing on me the moment I’m connected to another individual on the telephone. (Maybe that happens all the time, and I only realize it when I’m trying to make/take a phone call?) The man that I was speaking with could obviously hear my children in the background, and he asked how old they were. When I answered (1 and 2) his quick reply was the one I so commonly hear, “Oh…bless your heart!” While I have talked to many mothers that are offended by this response, I always laugh. I find it humorous that so many people think I’m doing something extraordinary by raising two young boys. Yes, it is difficult, but two under two definitely has advantages too. I’ll have to post those for you sometime. 🙂 Anyway, when I got off the phone with him I realized I should have told him, “No, bless your heart!” There I was, barefoot, hair in a ponytail, lying on my couch in the middle of the day, with two laughing toddlers climbing all over me. That poor man was sitting behind a desk somewhere across town, waiting on 5:00 to roll around. Thirty minutes later, my oldest son was down for his afternoon nap and I was standing in their bedroom, swaying back and forth to the music from the kitchen radio with my youngest in my arms. JOY.
“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” Deuteronomy 4:9
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