Do You Hold onto Happiness?

I was listening to one of my favorite bands, Press Play ( I wish it was in person) NY2LA CD, track 9 “Destiny” and came to a realization.  In life, how much effort do we put into holding onto things of value? We take steps and work to hold onto things of monetary value, such as homes, cars and investments. We take steps and work to hold onto things of relationship value, such as spouse, significant other, children and pets. We would be willing to fight if anyone tried to take any of these items away.  It just wouldn’t happen.

But what about items of intangible value, such as happiness, peace and joy? What do we do when any person, personal weakness, inadequacy, mental illness or life’s challenges threaten to take away our peace and our joy? Do we fight to hold onto these intangibles items of the greatest value or do we let them go without so much as a fight? I hear many people blame their unhappiness on life’s circumstances.

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Listen to “Destiny” from my favorite band:

“In the beginning, God gave you a destiny. Don’t ever think that destiny cannot come to pass. It’s your life. Live it.”

“You know I gotta keep believing. I’m ready for today ‘cause nothing’s gonna get in my way.”

“No one can take my joy. No one can take my peace. No one can take my destiny. He’s my everything and you can’t take it from me.”

Talk about a declaration. I cried as I typed those lyrics because so much threatens my peace and joy at the moment. I should add “stress” to the list of items that threaten our happiness. I say we try to do what we can today. I say when our peace and joy is threatened, we do all we can to hold onto it. It seems like people let go of their peace and joy so easily instead of fighting to keep it.

Our happiness is not contingent on smooth sailing through life. Happiness is a decision, a state of mind, a choice.  Martha Washington said, "I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances." For me, I’m choosing to follow my rock band in declaring that no one can take away my joy or peace. I’m not just giving it away. Please join me in holding onto your happiness, too.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

I was reading in a religious magazine and something hit me like a brick that should have been so obvious.  You know in the Lord’s Prayer, when it says “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11), it didn’t say “Give us a lifetime of daily bread.” It basically said, “Give me one day at a time what I need.”  I hear everywhere from self-help to AA to new age to “Take life one day at a time, ” and “Live in the now.” But it may have started with this phrase in the Lord’s Prayer. Or perhaps earlier with the people of Moses who lived on manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16). As a refresher, the people of Moses were without food in the wilderness. So, God provided a substance called manna which met their nutritional needs. Manna rained daily from the skies except for the Sabbath. Any leftover or hoarded manna went bad except for the day before the Sabbath when they could gather more to subsist on the Sabbath day. (No wonder one of my kids hates leftovers.) God provided in increments, in portions.  God only asks the same of us.

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From this same religious article “Recognizing God’s Hand in our Daily Blessings,” D. Todd Christofferson said: “Asking God for our daily bread rather than our weekly, monthly, or yearly bread is also a way for us to focus on the smaller, more manageable bits of a problem.  To deal with something big, we may need to work at it in small, daily bites. Sometimes all we can handle is one day—or even just part of one day—at a time.” I’ve heard it also said “the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.” I don’t relish the thought of eating an elephant, so my elephant is made of solid chocolate.  :)  By small and simple things, God can accomplish great things through us (Alma 37:6). But to be content with small and simple things, to only have what we need for that day, is the aim of spiritual folk like you and me.

I’d love to say, “God, please give me what I need for this moment, and nothing more.” When I typed this last sentence, I mistyped “way” for “what.” “God, please give me way I need for this moment…” Maybe, like a GPS, all I need is a way or direction for the moment to keep me on the path of righteousness. If God gave all the directions at once to our next stop or for our entire lives, I know I’d forget them and I’d get lost. Perhaps God is merciful after all in giving us what we can handle and use at the time, just like manna. “Give us this day our daily bread.” My needs and problems are met on a daily basis. I'm just beginning to see God's wisdom...

Plan the Impossible

I thought this was appropriate for January and New Year’s Resolutions. I heard someone on the radio say today that God wants to do the impossible through us. But our planning usually revolves around what we can do on our own, not on what God can do through us.  We plan, we set goals, we resolve, but it is rarely to do the impossible. And if it is to do the impossible, we give up quickly without giving God the chance to see us to the end.

What if instead of making a New Year’s Resolution, we make a New Life Resolution? We become a new creature in God (2 Cor. 5:17.) Most of us believe in God…but do we believe Him (“Believing Christ” by Stephen Robinson)? Do we believe the things God says? Do we believe God is capable of fulfilling His promises? When He says nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:47), do we think it’s a nice quote or do we believe it with every fiber of our being, ready to press forward through any storm? How strong is our faith? How many of us carry burdens on our own when God has already carried them for us? God asks us come to Him with our heavy burdens and He will give us rest (Matt. 11:28).

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My resolution this year is to get in better physical shape but perhaps I should seek to get in better spiritual shape, too. My goal to get in physical shape will be difficult for me as I have to be consistent every day for 6-8 months straight. I’m not very good at being consistent so this will be an impossible goal realized. I’m going to include God in my goals and pray God can work through me to do the impossible.