The Back Burner and Old Comfy Tennis Shoes

I have decided it was time to post something! I have not forgotten about my beloved Remembering Joy blog, it has just been moved to the back burner these last couple of months.Speaking of back burner, I put 14 cups of water on the back burner this afternoon to make Ramen noodles for my kids and their 5 friends. I busied myself washing dishes, wiping up spilled milk, sun-screening 10 little backs to get ready to swim, laundry, etc. It took me about 45 minutes to realize that although the burner was on High, it was not boiling yet. I decided to just put the 7 packages of not-in-the-least-bit-nutritious Ramen noodles in the water, because it had to be hot enough! 

After a bit I thought to myself, "Why didn't I take the time to move the pot of water to another burner, or separate the water into 2 different pans?"

Well, this got me thinking about my own life. I have been experiencing some old patterns of depression and anxiety lately. It has taken me while to even notice, as I have occupied myself with other things in life.

These subtle feelings of loneliness, hopelessness and constant frustration are like old, comfy tennis shoes.  But, these old, comfy tennis shoes were really weighing me down. They were comfortable in a familiar way, but the only thing they added to my life was darkness. 

That darkness was depleting my JOY. 

Now, I really hope I am not the only one who takes a while to realize that I am not happy and that I need to make some changes. Sometimes I have to live in my misery for a while before I remember that it is JOY I am striving for. It is JOY I choose.  But, I am getting better at it, and I am trying to be patient with myself. 

Well, as they say, knowing IS half the battle, so now that I have taken a moment to assess why my pot of water is not coming to a boil, I am deciding to move it to a different burner.

I encourage you to stop for a moment, and look at your pot of water.  Ask yourself why the water is taking so long to boil. What do you need to do to help get it going? What changes need to be made? Is there a burner that heats faster? Should you just bag the Ramen noodles all together and make Turkey wraps? 

I not only choose JOY now, but I choose faith and hope. Faith that a loving Heavenly Father knows me and loves me. I now cling to the hope that JOY is something I can experience on a daily basis. Hope that tomorrow will come and bring with it new life, opportunities and more water to boil!

So...I am tossing out my old pair of tennis shoes! They really are not that comfortable. Feel free to add yours to the heap!