Pure Joy

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,

but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~

I have been pushing myself lately to learn how to complain less. It is so easy to complain, and yet when a person looks at the world as a whole, there is actually very little about my life that I can truly complain about.

It is easy to complain about a job you dislike. However, a person could learn to be thankful for an income, and a way of being able to put food on the table, and home to live in.

It is easy to complain about the cold weather. However, cold weather forces families to be kept inside, and new memories can be made by spending time together.

It is easy to complain about the government. However, although we may not support all of their decisions, living under the order of a dictator and communism would be much worse.

Sometimes it is also easy to complain about our children, and the things they do that irritate us, worry us, annoy us, tire us. When discussing this with my Bible study group last week, a friend of mine said, "I guess instead of complaining about my son teething, I should just be thankful that he'll have teeth!". Over the last week, the idea of being thankful for things I would usually complain about has become more and more profound. I definately find myself having more joy, and I find myself enjoying James a lot more too.

Daddy and James in the pool at our hotel this weekend.

I've been trying to see his stages more like little memories that are going to soon fade away - so instead of complaining about how he always hangs onto my legs, I am learning to cherish the fact that he wants to be near to me. I've also been embracing his naptime wake-ups (which requires me to stop what I'm doing and rock him back to sleep as I just had to do now), as little moments where I get to be a comfort and cuddle with my son. I have recently seen that these little moments are going to become fewer and fewer.There are often days when my husband will come home from work, and I'll complain about how sore my back is from having spent so much of my day leaning over to walk with James. I don't complain about that anymore, and if I do, only with laughter. One day those little hands will no longer want to embrace my hands for support, and will eventually reach for someone else's hand in love. I hope I never complain about walking with James again.

The more I think about it, the more I find myself making changes to my thoughts about things I regularly complain(ed) about. While we were away this weekend, James would often wake from his naps crying, because of the strange surroundings. Upon going to pick him up after one of his naps, and having him lay with his head on my shoulder after his little wake-up scare I found myself broken down in tears. How I wish I could prevent him from ever being scared! How I wish I could keep all bad things from him! How I wish he would never be sad, frightened, lonely, or unhappy. I thought of all the many children in the world that quiver in fear at the sight of their own mother or father entering their room. I held James very close as I prayed to my dear Lord that he would never know such fear as that.

I was then reminded how the Lord is my Father. He is a Father that has blessed me with all these things that bring me joy, and how do I thank Him? I complain. How can I pray and ask Him for things when I am not thankful for what I already have? To top it all off, my Heavenly Father has blessed me with forgiveness, mercy, grace and the promise of eternal life. He died for me - in the same way that I would give up my life for James. He took all that for me. He has bore all my sins - every single one. How I long to show this love to James, that he would grow up and choose to love Jesus too.

I hope that by hearing his mother be thankful in all situations (to the best of my ability), he will see a glimpse of Christ through me. I know I will never be perfect in this endeavor, and there are times when a person needs to speak about their frustrations. I hope that I can show my son all the things that God has given us to bring us joy. He gave us so much, that He even chose to give us His son. That is a sacrifice I cannot imagine giving to anyone. Could I even be as brave as Abraham was, and lay my son on an alter to die if the Lord asked me to? It seems unthinkable. I want to be a mother that could exemplify a faith such as that. I pray today that I will be such a mother. A mother that my son will look up to, and see Christ through. I challenge you today to start finding the joy in the things that cause you to complain. I hope that in doing so, you will find the pure joy that I am just beginning to see.

Keep smiling, as it makes you look so beautiful! God bless, and thank you for sharing this moment with me!