So, I was driving in my car this morning. We were headed to story time. The AC on high. Radio turned up. We were coming up over the intracoastal waterway. Beautiful! Boats were out. Reid babbles at the sight of birds, and my mind was onto something. I started thinking about happiness. Being happy. Happy people. It's a choice. In my head I told myself, I'm happy. I'm going to choose to be happy. I want to be happy for others. Well...
On the intracoastal descent, I thought my "happy" thoughts were on their descent too. An older beat up truck came to a pretty quick stop. Looking on both sides of me, I made the decision to swerve to my left. Sped up and around the truck and got back over. It wasn't a close call by any means. I'm a pretty cautious driver. I'm safe. But, I got the honk. I smiled, and told myself maybe they're not happy today and moved on.
A minute goes by, I'm cruising along and I got another long honk with an arm raised (no birds flying). Just a honk. I said (out loud that Parker heard), "well, what an ornery old lady!" Parker asks, "Why did you say that Mommy?"
I laughed, and said, "Oh, that lady just isn't happy today."
I'm really not sure if she woke up on the wrong side of the bed, or if I'm the one who ruined her day. I'm sorry if I was the reason. She made my day. I smiled. I got a laugh, AND a blog out of it.
Okay, on a more serious note, happiness is so important. Days are long. Days are hard. Days are exhausting. Every day doesn't always have to be full of roses and rainbows, but they don't have to be miserable either. It helps to smile. Lately, I have found myself smiling in the midst of "trials" with the boys. It's kind of hard to discipline with anger while I'm smiling. It helps me calm myself when I want to raise my voice.
Yelling is easy. It happens. Smile. Take a deep breath and then proceed with discipline. It's a great way to calm the storm, if you will. It's a great way to find a little "happy" on those tougher days.
Being happy for others is another one. That old ornery lady this morning. Remember her? I was happy for her. I was happy she didn't hit me. I was happy she didn't wreck while taking her hand off the steering wheel to honk and raise an arm. I was happy that she drove away feeling good about making her point... That she wasn't happy (with me). And, I'm happy I can make jokes and no one really take me serious right now.
I do want to be happy for others. Even in small matters. I'm guilty as charged! For example, selfies! They bother me. A little. Well, use to. But I should just be happy for you. I'm happy your hair looks good. I wish I had time to get all dolled up; just doesn't happen often. It's a Facebook thing, but posts tell a lot about a person. People hate on them, love them or don't even acknowledge them. Either way, who cares if someone got a new car, a nice home, has great kids or shows off their big bling... Be happy for them. It's easier said than done, but when we make an effort at changing something in our lives, we will slowly surprise ourselves.
There are a lot of unhappy people in this world. We see them everyday. As Christians, we should be set apart. There should be something about us that is different. We should have joy, an everlasting joy. We should be happy and happy for those around us. Period.
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
“Joy is the serious business of Heaven.” ~ C. S. Lewis
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