When I tell people my blog is called Joyfully Becca I sort of cringe. I mean, I picked it, but I also have some issues with it. I imagine when people hear it they picture me twisting my pointer finger in an imaginary dimple on my cheek. Like I'm always happy. Always smiling and laughing and high fiving.
The truth is this: I am quite the half glass full kind of girl. Even when things are going poorly I will often think, "well, at least this will make a good story." I tend to enjoy life a lot. And I do tend to be joyful.
But I'm not always happy. I'm an emotional girl. But I have learned along the way that happy is the emotion and joyful is the choice.
Especially the last two months. I can now see that this rough winter was a combination of a lot of things: some postpartum depression for sure, some seasonal affective disorder with winter blues, adjusting to life with two kids, lack of sleep and incredible anxiety over things out of my control. The combination was pretty awful.
March and April were not happy months. But I still enjoyed them. We tapped our trees during this time, we got our chickens, we watched Elsie become mobile, Ivar started asking to play with his little sister. Life was good, and looking back March and April were joyful.
I've been signing every email and letter Joyfully, Becca since my junior year in high school. I completely stole it from my best friend Heidi who also signs everything this way. Heidi is my role model in all things joyful. We still laugh about a stressful day in high school when she told me, "You gotta choose joy, Bec." And I lashed out at her, "You want me to choose phoniness Heidi?!! Because I'm not joyful!"
But Heidi understood joy was a choice. I didn't have to be happy. But I could still choose to rise above whatever high school drama I was living that day. The earlier we learn this lesson, the better.
The source of joy comes from knowing Jesus and knowing exactly whose I am. Especially when I am walking through so many identity changes all at once (becoming a mother, moving to a new town, still finding my footing through it all) it is a great relief to always know whose I am. I am Christ's. And that knowledge right there, is joy.
So here's to joy. And to choosing it for yourself.
Joyfully,
Becca
6 comments:
Looks like you had a very Joyful Mothers Dad, too!!
Love this posting, and I absolutely agree. Joy is a choice. Someone once gave me a notecard that read, "A joyful spirit is evidence of a grateful heart." (A quote from Maya Angelou). I've kept it posted on my wall ever since as a reminder to be grateful and to be unashamed of finding great joy in this world. I'm glad that you are Joyfully Becca!
I love this too! There are just some people in this world, unfortunately not a lot, that one could consider as a joy full person and that my dear is you!
I love this too! You are absolutely right! And joy is a fruit of the spirit. There are a few people in this world that I know that I would describe as a Joy Full person, and you my dear are one of them! :)
LOL, I loved reading this.
Life is scruffy and weird and unpredictable. And also entirely too predictable in some instances.
A lot of times it's not real pretty, but it's totally worth it anyway.
A sense of gratitude and a sense of humor can really help keep aggravation and resentment from taking the upper hand.
(I get SOOO resentful and aggravated when I can't find the scotch tape or my scissors. Or when people have obviously been eating in my bed.)
You don't have to be perfect for me. I like you how you are. love, Val
You said you enjoy your blog? Well, so do I...and very much! I love your point about choosing joy. It works! He is good!!
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