(Disclaimer: the author does not claim to have mastered the secrets to happiness conveyed in this or any other blog post; she only invites you to join her in the pursuit)
For some of you who have known me in other phases of my life, you might be surprised to learn that I am striving to find happiness. Yes, I was one of those people (and still can be) who thrives on being miserable, and letting everyone know about it. "I'm so busy." "I'm so tired." "I just can't get ahead." "Why is this happening to me?" Whether you call it a "Case of the Mondays" or "I'm Too Busy-itis" or something else, it's just not pleasant to be around.
One day, I decided I was tired of being tired. I was tired of being miserable. I saw the foolishness in thinking that being so busy I made me look more important to others. No, I only looked out of control of my life. It was ridiculous to actively engage in more activities than I enjoyed and then complain about it.
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." -Lamentations 3:22
My mindset of thinking I could coach God by giving him ideas on how not to mess everything up seems ridiculous looking back. Yet how often do I flirt with that line? HIS compassions never fail. My compassions are only occasionally compassionate.
And happiness, well, that's mostly a choice. It comes and goes, but we have a lot of control over that. I was always asking God for help, but not even taking what was offered. Didn't get a lot of listening in; too much to say. I wore my exhaustion like a medal, proud to be busy, overworked, underappreciated and tired. All. The. Time.
Here is the first thing, maybe the most important thing I've learned about being happy: It's right in front of me every day. And it is in front of you every day, too. God has promised us new mercies each day. They are yours and mine. If I don't trip over them on the way to the kitchen in the morning, I'm going to go looking for them. They're mine! I want them. Like treasures found on the frequent nature walks I take with my children, sometimes you have to keep moving and actively looking to find the good stuff. The approach of wanting all life's goodness to plop in our laps with no effort on our part will result in a lot of disappointment.
If we take the additional step of seeing God's mercies as God's faithfulness, we see that providing mercies anew each day isn't something God does, it's who God IS. He is faithful every day, and most of the time, when things aren't going well for me, I have to stop and consider that my will and God's will might not be lined up, and one of us is going to have to change our ways.
Does this mean life will be sunshine, lollipops and rainbows every day if God is doing his job? No. It means we need to trust God's faithfulness in every circumstance; our position is always to be one of humility in the face of our God who has eternity under control.
Back to new mercies - receiving them isn't enough. I can't say, "Good job showing up, God" and be done with the day. I have to receive those mercies. Own them. Make them part of my life each day, all day long.
"I will sing of the LORD'S great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations." -Psalm 89:1
God gave me the Book of Faith project out of a conviction to make this happen in our family and in our church and wherever else people will do it. We must be intentional about passing on our real-life stories of God's goodness to our children and their children. In doing so, we are passing on a key to happiness and joy in their own lives as they grow to recognize God's mercy themselves. It's right in front of us; we only must practice seeing.
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