Finding Joy in Daily Life

In a ward in Alexandria, Virginia, the speakers' talks were on guilt and how it can be healthy or destructive. At times, I thought they were both speaking only to me; it was as if they were focused right on me and no one else. Both speakers were lawyers and they were organized, spritual, and helpful. At the end of Hannah Smith's talk, she reminded us all that we are here to have JOY each day. Of course, I've heard that so many times in all kinds of church meetings, but it really resonated with me that day. I made a decision that I would find JOY each day. And, I have tried to do that since that day long ago...well, okay three weeks!

So, let me tell you about JOY Friday, Nov 15; we were having some very dear friends for dinner - Jim & Hermoine Erickson, Al & Ellen Hale - and I was in the kitchen fixing a salad. I love our kitchen: it's clean, very well organized, and has lots of workable space. (Sometimes I think of the kitchen where my mother fixed her fabulous meals and I want to weep because she had such a tiny space to work with and yet, her meals were so delicious with so many choices.) I realized while putting that shrimp/lime jello salad together that I was grateful for so many things, and I felt absolute JOY. It was a wonderful moment.

Later that night, seated around the table enjoying a marvelous meal prepared by Allen, with our dear friends, we were having such a great time - oh, the stories - I felt JOY again. We laughed so hard and I loved being in their presence; good, positive, hard-working people whom I love very much. It was definitely a day of JOY.

Just as a side note, one of the very funny stories was about a friend of Al's who was very close to dying with heart trouble when he was given a new heart belonging to a young woman. At the class reunion, Al asked the man's wife how he was doing, and she said, "Really well." Al said, "Have you moticed anything different about him?" And, the wife said, "Well, yes. Whenever we're shopping, he always want to stop and look at purses and shoes!" We all had a good laugh over that. Jim Erickson then said that his oldest son isn't married and the first thing he asks a girl is how many pairs of shoes she has...if it's close to 200, he's not interested.