Joy...in paradise

Last night we watched "The Bucket List". Good movie...especially at my age!

In this movie there are two very different people facing the same event. One has all the money he could ever use but no one to share it with. The other has enough money to get through life but a family whom he dearly loves and they love him. They come together and learn many things from each other. The one to have some 'fun' that he thought he had missed and the other to learn that love of family brings greater joy than he ever imagined.

It got me thinking about how much JOY I have in my life...how much joy do I ALLOW myself to have? Is there more joy in life when kids are small or when they FINALLY grow up and you once again have a life all to yourself?

Men are that they might have joy, the scriptures tell us.

Joy isn't always being happy 24/7, I don't believe. Joy, to me, is seeing the wonderful things that happen in life amid everyday life. Joy is knowing that life can and does have it's beautiful, exciting, blissful moments. For me, it's just learning to have THOSE moments stand out ahead of the not so beautiful, exciting, blissful moments!!

Catie-Lynn, in all her 17 3/4 years of living, gave the me what-for about an expression that I use quite often since living "here in paradise". She says it makes people think my life here is terrible. I tried to explain that the reason I use this expression is because to everyone else I do live in paradise....who wouldn't want to live in a tropical country...paradise, right? She didn't buy that. SHE told me that my life wasn't as bad as I made it out to be here and that I needed to find the good things about 'paradise'!

My pride gets in the way, I will admit. I loved my big house and having all my 'things' around. I loved being able to go to the store and buy whatever I saw that I thought I needed or wanted. I loved putting my clothes in the dryer and having them come out 30 minutes later. I loved being able to pick up the phone and call whomever, whenever. I loved having air conditioning. I loved being able to get in my car and drive to see my kids and grandkids whenever I wanted.

THAT was MY paradise.

You get the idea....all things that, sometimes-ok, quite often I must admit, keep me from finding joy here and now. Except for being able to see all my kids and grandkids are 'things' that really don't bring me joy.

Life changes with each day. I want to find the joy in each of those changes...whatever they are.
I am that I might have joy. That is a great promise. That is a great blessing.

Thank you Catie-Lynn for helping me see that I really can find joy in my present paradise!!