I Choose Joy

Today is a grateful day. I know, I know!  Everyday should be grateful day but that is just not how it works. So, instead of feeling down on myself for the bad days, I will CELEBRATE the grateful days to the hilt.

I woke with a prayer and contentment. I will attempt to hold this feeling throughout my Wednesday. Wednesdays are wonderful because my girls and I are taking the NAMI Family to Family course. The three of us eat dinner together beforehand and then head off to learn, to laugh, to cry with a group of people that you wish you never had to meet but there you are, grouped together with one commonality....a mentally ill loved one. The pain in that room is palpable at times, but there is hope too. I think of a few special people that have lived with this thing for a long time and still have joy. The joy they have is a choice they've made despite the obstacles life has thrown at them. I also consider a few of the group that are angry. Not that they don't have the right to be angry, but it's eating them up. They feel like they have few choices and the future looks dark. The future for many of their loved ones is rather dark and scary. Having very little control over adults with mental illness, one has to accept their limited options in controlling what takes place next. I think of the parents of Amanda Bynes and how little control they have over a very sick daughter. I've come to the conclusion that whether angry or joy filled that future is going to happen. I choose joy.

I choose joy

I CHOOSE JOY.

I'd love to hear how you choose joy in the face of your hardships.

Now please go out there and be kind....I know that we could all use a little more of it♥

Comments

  1. LollyNovember 5, 2014 at 11:56 AM

    I didn't choose joy initially. In October of 2010 God showed up in a big way and started changing my life. First He started showing me things through nature...the way birds sound when they sing, the colors of sunsets, the presence of Himself that you can feel in the wind through the trees, then He showed up in the music I listened to. No, I don't hear voices...it's more of a sense of His presence. By January 2011, I was in Alanon with a spouse who was sober but not recovered. Fast forward 4 years and it's still the same situation. Except for me, I'm different because God = JOY in my life. God has been and still is showing me JOY and where to find it on a daily basis. The hardships don't feel hard anymore. My load feels lighter. Is that due to God or Alanon?? I don't know and I really don't care which it is. It happened and I'm grateful for them both. For 28 years, I was a miserable wretch living with an active alcoholic. Your statement about ending up crazy??? It happens to us all. Their insane craziness makes us crazy too. I felt as if I was going mad. I kid you not. My spouse made me crazed! God saved me. Alanon saved me. Maybe joy saved me. I'm a completely different person that I used to be. And that's a Thank you Jesus moment!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda dNovember 5, 2014 at 12:16 PM

      Thank you Lolly. Your story could be my story. I think it's all God using wonderful thngs like Al-Anon to help us through. The fact that you've been doing it for 4 years gives me hope for the future. I pray that both you and I keep our gratefulness going strong because it makes all the difference.

      Delete
  2. devinneyhNovember 7, 2014 at 10:47 AM

    Thank you for sharing. Be proud of where you are and how far you've come. I am certainly proud.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda dNovember 7, 2014 at 11:25 AM

      Thanks darlin' but I think you might be biased♥♥

      Delete

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