• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

[Still] Not There Yet...

my musings on being a work in progress

  • Family Life
    • + Adoption Care
    • + Foster Care
    • + Parenting
    • + Tips for U.S. Families Abroad
  • Faith & Culture
    • + Endless Grace
    • + Craving Justice
    • + Not of This World
    • + Why are we here?
  • Creative Inspiration
    • + In My Kitchen
    • + Through My Earbuds
    • + On My Nightstand
    • + Making Me Laugh
    • + Via Technology
    • + Quick Thoughts
  • About
    • Get in Touch
    • Advertising
    • Library Archive
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Faith & Culture / + Not of This World / Marked… to Choose Joy!

Marked… to Choose Joy!

September 4, 2014 By Wendy Willard · Leave a Comment ·

It’s funny the rabbit trails our minds follow. I was just standing next to the dryer, folding my husband’s shirts, one day when I noticed it. The shirt in question was no longer white, but rather a baby blue because of a previous laundry incident (I admit: I rarely separate laundry as I was taught. Instead, I take the easy road and just throw it all in, hoping for the best. Sometimes it works out, and other times, we get to enjoy clothes with brand-new, unique colors. My family graciously wears them regardless… most of the time.)

Anyway, it was the new color of that used-to-be-white shirt that caused me to notice them: the unmistakable marks we leave on each other. I have forever changed the color of my husband’s shirt.

So what?

(This is where that rabbit trail comes into play.)

I started to wonder: how else have I left my mark on those around me?

Of course, with someone like my husband, there are plenty of tangible marks… like the messed up laundry and the various household items I’ve bought for him (like the ceramic coffee mug that looks like one of those paper, throw-away cups, or the super-comfy jacket hanging on the coat rack that speaks more of my obsession with Horny Toad than any interest he might have in the Pacific Northwest clothing company).

But what about the stuff that isn’t stored in hall closets or pantries, but rather in the deep crevasses of our soul?

There are way too many ways I might negatively affect those around me (check out Acts 14:2 and Proverbs 17:22 for starters). In fact, just like my laundry method, it’s a whole lot easier to negatively impact someone than it is to make a positive impact. We really have to try to leave a good mark. [And be thankful there’s grace to cover the moments we don’t.]

One translation of the second of those two verses goes like this: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but depression drains one’s strength.”

Ouch.

But you know what? I’m just going to come out and say it: we all go through periods of depression. We all whine and complain (probably a lot more than we might realize). So we’re all going to sap others’ strength at some point (or many points) along the way.

Maybe the purpose of this verse isn’t to beat us down even further when we’re already swimming in darkness, but rather to direct us to the way out: “a joyful heart is good medicine.”

Joy.

It’s an amazingly contagious — yet often elusive — feeling. And like love, it’s not just a feeling, is it? It’s a living-breathing-tough-to-make choice.

We have to choose joy. Over and over and over again.

Choose Joy

As Rick Warren reminds us in his series entitled Joy Is a Choice, “In the book of Philippians, Paul uses the word ‘joy’ 16 times in just four chapters. As a prisoner in a Roman jail, awaiting execution, it’s pretty amazing to think that he was able to write the most positive book of the Bible during one of the darkest times of his life.”

I don’t want to “sap your strength” every time we get together, with complaining and whining. You know – those people who make you think twice about answering their call on days when you just can’t take another stresser… I want to be the one who finds joy — choosing it against all odds — even in the darkness.

Together, maybe we can choose to leave joyful marks on each others’ lives?

This previously-white-now-blue t-shirt has got me pondering more ways I can positively color the lives of those around me, instead of “draining their strength” and forcing them to hide from or try to avoid the marks I might leave on their lives.

So much for a quick laundry break… time to get back to work ;).

// Portions of this is post were originally published to my personal blog before stillnotthereyet.com was born. 🙂

Related Posts

  • Homemade-fake Maple SyrupHomemade-fake Maple Syrup
  • Beauty or Broken?Beauty or Broken?
  • Perseverance… beyond the hopelessPerseverance… beyond the hopeless
  • From the Back SeatFrom the Back Seat
  • My flesh is so weakMy flesh is so weak
  • Count it all joy (a.k.a. each week it sucks a little less)Count it all joy (a.k.a. each week it sucks a little less)

Filed Under: + Not of This World, + Why are we here? · Tagged With: influence, laundry

Reader Interactions

Encourage and discuss here Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Featured Posts, From the Archive

The Healing Power of Creativity

The Healing Power of Creativity

Educational Podcasts for Kids

10 Common Myths About Foster Care

when we know our strengths and seek to grow in those specific areas the sky is the limit

My Episode of The Adoption Connection Podcast

Favorite fun family games

Favorite Family Games

Adopted for Daily Life: A Devotional for Adopting Moms

Latest Posts

  • Life’s big questions: Who am I? Why am I here? November 19, 2020
  • Checking Out, Dulling the Pain, and Skimming the Tears October 13, 2020
  • Filling My Cup in an Unexpected (Unwanted?) Way September 21, 2020
  • Stop, Listen, and Learn July 23, 2020
  • What’s this Season’s Theme Song? May 1, 2020

Stuff I Write About

Why I think learning your kid's strengths is so important...

Don’t miss a post!

Enter your email to receive each new post in your inbox. (Please follow the directions in the confirmation email to activate your subscription.)

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2021 Wendy Willard · Get in Touch