This is our dog Theo. He is an interesting little fellow. He’s a mix br
eed, a mutt if you will. The story is that his mom a CavaPoo escaped her home and met up with a friendly, very friendly if you know what I mean, Rat Terrier in her neighborhood and the outcome of this chance meeting two or so months later was Theo. He got all his dad Rat Terrier genes from the look of him but inherited his mom’s long legs so he has an interesting look to match his interesting personality. He provides much entertainment for my family with all his neurotic little ways. I like this picture of him because it looks like he is smiling as he dozes in puppy dreamland. A dog’s life…easy, joy-filled! Lots of sleep, attention from people that love you well, a few crumbs that fall off the counter while preparing meals, chasing a ball – over and over again until your heart feels like it may pop out of your chest. Pure joy!
My aunt from Denham Springs, one of the many people in our area who experienced the recent devastation to which us Louisianians are referring to as the “Great Flood of 2016” sent me this picture the other day. Now if you could pan out from this picture you would find it sitting atop a pile of water drenched furniture and items recently gutted from her home. “Gutted” is an appropriate ver
b for this sentence. It is a violent act! Water comes in uninvited and robs of all things familiar and all one can do to make sense of the mess is to purge. Gutted is how it feels – body, soul and spirit. It’s devastating to see the things you have treasured and loved piled high like trash outside your front door, heaped and broken.
And yet she is looking for the silver lining, something to make sense of all of this!
Find “Joy in the Journey”
That’s the gold we are all looking for in this life, the joy in the journey because life is hard some days, life is unfair some days, life is cruel some days, life is unpredictable and unbearable and hopeless and leaves us questioning and beating our fists, blaming and screaming for answers to all that is unexpected and unexplainable! Find Joy in the Journey – YES!
What else are we to do? There is nothing else!
To breathe, to make sense, to move on we must find what my bestie calls “her instead” – we MUST find our instead – our joy – and take a step forward and another and another!
YOU ARE THE SILVER LINING!
Which brings me back to my dog Theo and all his simple joy – he brings it with him, it’s in him and we are the lucky recipients he shares it with. Isn’t that how God intended for it all to work…bad things happen to good people and yet we find the strength to move on, we find our joy again and we share it with those around us.
Your joy is infectious, contagious and it affects others. Your joy lightens the load, makes it less unbearable, makes it feel like this world and things in it are doable!
We must find our instead and share it wth others –
the world needs your silver lining, your instead, your joy!
You are the light of the world, let your light shine!
Find JOY in the JOURNEY!
