Joy

Thanks to Air1 losing their minds and playing old, melancholy worship songs, I've switched to listening to music on YouTube.  I've been listening to different mixes featuring TobyMac (my fave) and similar artists.  The song "Joy" by for King and Country played the other day.  It is admittedly not a deep song, but I still love its upbeat tempo in the mornings.  It also reminded me of a thought I've been struck with multiple times lately:  There is a certain amount of happiness and joy that we can choose in our lives.

For reference, here is the music video:

On a surface level, we can choose our happiness.  We can choose how we view the world.  We can compare the now to the past or the hopeful future and be disappointed.  Or we can be grateful for what we have now.  We can change our circumstances when they're bad.  Or we can wallow in the negative.  For example, on my flight home in December to take care of my mom, the overhead light on the row in front of me would not turn off.  The man showed it to the flight attendant, they inspected the problem, then informed the man that it couldn't be fixed right then because it was a complicated problem.  The man was welcome to change seats as there were plenty empty.  I had my entire row to myself.  The man did not change seats.  About 12 hours into the 14 hour flight, I saw the man taking a video of the light and himself.  This man chose to stay in his situation.  He could have moved.  He could have put on his sleep mask.  But instead he is somewhat fixated on this light well into a very long flight.  I'm just grateful I didn't see a viral video a few days later of a man's rant about the light that won't go off on his plane ride.

On a deeper lever, we can choose joy.  We can choose God's joy in our current circumstances.  We can "Rejoice always!  Pray constantly.  Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (HCSB).  That was probably one of the first Bible verses I memorized.  I think it appeals to me because it is a series of simple words you can remember and repeat in a moment.  At the same time, it is hard.  Many wonder how you rejoice and give thanks when things are hard.  The prayer part, at least for me, can be easy.

What does it look like to choose joy?  When I was battling depression, it meant remembering that my journey could be a shining beacon of hope for someone else.  It meant crying out to God in deep prayers of groans and tears and knowing he heard me.  It meant being thankful for good days and incremental improvements.  It means being thankful for where I've been and where I am now.  I was, admittedly, not always great at choosing joy.  When my mom was sick, it meant focusing on the family that could be near her.  It meant seeking peace in the circumstances.  It meant being thankful for the ability to communicate with someone on the other side of the world.  It meant being thankful that she lives in a big city close to experts in her needed fields.  It meant praying through a church service because singing along on that particular Friday morning was more than I could manage.  It meant finding joy in her sense of peace.  As she has said, "I prayed a lot.  But never was I scared and never was I without an overwhelming sense of peace and security.  God knew I was in special need of His closeness, and He held me especially close every day, moment by moment."  It now means being joyful and thanking God for her healing.  It means praying over doctors and her attitude in the face of her upcoming heart procedure.

Please join me in prayer.  My mom's heart procedure will happen before the end of February (tomorrow, actually).  My depression and anxiety are definitely rearing their ugly heads again.  I don't like being sick.