Deciding to Be Happy
Matt tagged me in a post a few days ago. He told me to read the last line, that it was golden. It was a post about a girl who had passed away in February of this year. The last line of the article, written in her own words, was this line: “You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.”
That’s a powerful line, especially when it comes from someone whose life backs it up. I’ve been thinking a lot about that phrase lately, especially after I saw that a girl I follow on social media passed away on March 1.
Brooklyn’s Faith
Brooklyn wasn’t someone I ever had the privilege of meeting, but I followed her online when I heard about her story. She was upfront and direct about the fact that she she was dying, and there was nothing anything could do about it. Brooklyn had chronic illness and all sorts of health problems, and she was very open about them. She had every reason to be miserable. Yet, if you followed her online and read any of her posts, she always had the biggest smile and was upbeat in her posts. It was both beautiful and heartbreaking to watch at the same time. These were some of the words of the last post she wrote before going to be with Jesus.
As I wait for my last breaths, I’ve been reading through the gospels. The Apostle’s description of Jesus’ crucifixion are a gut punch for anyone. Now dying myself, the description of how my Savior died is so much more potent. It leaves me in awe of a God who was born into flesh, willing to die in brutality and rise agin for the sin of humanity.
Brooklyn Salisbury
The Brokenness All Around Us
The world around us is broken. From the war in Ukraine, to the suffering of persecuted Christians, to kids dying from cancer, it can feel utterly and completely hopeless. Yet, somehow we’re supposed to reconcile all this with the life that Jesus wants us to—one of hope, faith, and love.
I read this verse in Proverbs this week, and it made me stop and consider.
For the despondent, every day brings trouble;
Proverbs 15:16 NLT
for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.
We can’t control what happens around us, but we can control how we respond to it. Have you ever noticed, some of the people that have the most horrible things happen to them are the most joyful people? How is that? They’ve chosen to have a happy heart.
I struggle with Having a Happy Heart
I am not a super emotional person, but I can be a super pessimistic person. Because I am a realist and see life in black and white, I can often see life on the cup-is-half-full side of life. That helps me be a little more even-keeled in life, but the downside is that I have a hard time choosing happiness.
I need to remind myself often that how much joy I get out of life is determined by me. God has blessed me with so much good. His faithfulness and unfailing love surround me.
Psalm 86:15 NLT
But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry andfilled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
So then choosing happiness becomes like all other hard things in life. It becomes a discipline. The more we do it, the better we get at it.
So for today, I choose to be happy. I choose to see life as a continual feast. I choose to find the good. And the more I do that, the easier it will become.
For More Encouragment
One of the hardest but best books I have ever read along these lines is The Hardest Peace: Expecting God’s Grace in the Midst of Hard by Kara Tippetts. I will warn you, you need to have a box of tissues handy when you read it, but it’s an amazing book that I think every Christian should read.
Another resource is my book, The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your Life. I wrote this during a very dark time in my life, when I had to come to grips with my faith and what I knew of God when that clashed with my circumstances.
You can also read my post, Our Week in the ICU and God’s Grace for Every Moment.
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