A Year of Living Joyously - One Small Step at a Time

January was off to a good start. Lots of joy flowing through the day. I was loving it. I was just basking in the glow of Christmas joy. Wham! Out of nowhere, I was hit with news that took me off guard. I felt anger at the situation; at the person who caused it. Then I caught myself.

It's not that I can't feel anger. Anger is an emotion that we all feel at times. It was how I was brooding over the situation and getting myself worked up. I was losing the joy.

Elizabeth Scalia's blog had a quote today by St. Francis De Sales that spoke to the heart of what put me in a turmoil.

To persevere in the devout life it is a matter of deciding upon some excellent and generous maxims, with the right intention. The first I would suggest to you is that of Saint Paul, “All turns out well for those who love God.” [cf. Rom 8:28] If we agree that God can and does draw good out of evil, will He not do that especially for those who give themselves to Him without reserve? Even our very sins (from which may God preserve us!) are destined by Providence for the good of those who serve God. If David had not sinned, he would not have learned his deep sense of humility! … (Letters 1420; O. XVIII, p. 209)

When I'm angry, I'm close-fisted, close minded and frankly, quite ugly. I'm most struck by this part of the quote - If we agree that God can and does draw good out of evil, will He not do that especially for those who give themselves to Him without reserve? So the question that I ask myself is "How can I give without reserve if my hands and mind are closed to God's workings?" It's no easy task. Life is hard and messy and full of upsetments. I've got to work on finding the joy in all kinds of settings.

I'm making a conscience decision to live my goal of joy in 2011. I'm using Small Steps for Catholic Moms to jumpstart my year. It's one of my favorite daily reading books. Each month, a virtue is focused on. For January, it is Joy. Each day has three sections: think, pray, act. Think has a quote from the Bible, a saint or other well known Catholic is listed at the top of the page. Pray has a short prayer related to the quote. Act has something for you which relates to the quote and prayer.

I'd like to have 365 moments of joy by the end of the year. Here are my first 18 moments of joy are:

1. Faces smiling at me through the kitchen window just as snowballs are released

2. Gleeful sounds coming from the bedrooms when a 2 hour snow delay is announced

3. Holding the hand of a three year old bundled up in a fuchsia hooded coat as we walk through the park on a cold winter day

4. Three sprigs of Douglas fir in a mini vases sitting on the kitchen window sill reminding me of Christmas though it is well over

5. Watching my children try to stay up to midnight on New Year's Eve as they try to hold back yawns and drooping eyes

6. Hearing my three year old say, "I love you, Mom. You're my best friend."

7. Having my 11 yr. old daughter who never seems to need me anymore ask, "Can you rub my back? My muscles are sore."

8. Having a long weekend with my family.

9. Finding out the next day after the long weekend that school is cancelled.

10.Seeing my husband and daughter return from the ER

12.Hearing how my husband drove to Dairy Queen on a snowy Monday night in January to get my all-fixed-up daughter a "Blizzard" to ease the memory of the ER

13.Seeing a second Blizzard for me to enjoy with my daughter while we chat over the whole ER episode

14. Speaking with a family member who is going through a tough time and knowing that they see the hand of God in it

15.Dreaming about gardening and joining a Community Supported Agriculture(CSA)

16.Seeing my big girls dress up my little girl as a ballerina and watching that ballerina twirl and twirl and twirl

17.Sounds of little girl feet padding across the hall to say goodnight to the big sisters

18. Listening to the voices of the girls reading something funny out loud to one another