Today.....I will be as happy.....

Today......

I will be as happy as a bird with a french fry!

I love that saying.....someone gave me a mini poster with it.....the day after a crisis of epic proportions hit my life.....

You would think someone who loved and cared for me (as this person who gave me the poster is) would have given me a card that said something like, "praying for your strength"  or "with sympathy and understanding...."  But, no....

Today I will be as happy as a bird with a french fry!

It made me smile, even in the midst of a sudden life altering situation...the tears stopped for a time while I pondered.....

Think of it....a tiny bird....just hoping to get a crumb.....but then, the most fortuitous thing happens, and he is able to snag a whole gigantic french fry!  What victory!  What success!  What power!  What provision!  That is one happy bird!

Abraham Lincoln once said, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."  It is possible, even in the midst of very negative situations, to be happy, to make yourself smile, and to find SOMETHING for which to be thankful.

Happiness is different than joy, but they certainly work together.  Putting a smile on your face is simply a matter of muscle control.  I can smile and cry at the same time...I've gotten pretty good at it too!  Joy comes from the inside....but the smile on the face can be the kick start to realizing there is something to be joyful about...regardless of the circumstance.

Joy comes from a thankful heart, an attitude of gratitude.  In difficult times, find something for which to be thankful....I remember saying out loud, "God, thank you for my feet, and my toes, and my shoes, and my hands.....Thank you for Your Word that I have in my heart....Thank you for the fact that I can see and smell and walk and talk....."

Soon I began to feel like that bird with the french fry.....

The joy of the Lord is your strength.....Nehemiah 8:10