I have a confession to make. I love to eavesdrop. On people in general, really, but especially on my seven and nine year olds. The eavesdropping is made quite simple in our house in that we still have baby monitors hooked up. (Do not judge us. Their rooms are a long way from ours and if they got sick in the night, we would never hear them. Plus, if they continue to forget the monitors are there, they are going to come in very handy during their teenage years.... when we will also be installing video monitors in our driveway, their cars, and our family room.)
The thing is, though, sometimes you hear things that you really don't want or need to hear. Case in point: Two nights ago, I overheard Emma tell Kraig after he helped her with math homework, "Whew! Thank goodness you aren't an English teacher like Mommy! I'd be SUNK!" Well.... Et tu, little Brute?!?!?!
Recently I heard the girls talking to each other about their Kindergarten years. (As in, they both had one. Not as in they were in Kindergarten longer than a year. Just wanted to clarify.) Kelsey was raving about some Thanksgiving activity they did and how amazing it was and Emma stopped her by saying, "No offense, but you were pretty easily excited in Kindergarten. I mean, you thought EVERYTHING was a giant deal!"
That comment stopped me in my tracks. Isn't it so true? Not just with school, but with everything... from education to a Christian walk to parenting to a career to marriage to a hobby or passion... everything. We start off and we are SO. EXCITED. Everything is a big deal, we are optimistic about everything, we delight in the banal circumstances of every situation. As time goes on, we lose it. We get cynical. We get jaded. We get TIRED. And those little things aren't so exciting anymore. In fact, they become fodder for complaints and sources of exhaustion.
I wonder why that is? More importantly, I wonder how we can maintain the joy. Not necessarily the level of excitement, because that would get old really quickly. But at least the steady delight in doing something we are meant to do and doing it well. I'm better in some of those categories than others. And I think there are seasons in all things and so sometimes we will just hit a low season. But whatever the cause, whatever the case, I believe a choice and conscious effort to maintain joy will pay off great dividends in our futures.
I heard a great speaker named Angela Thomas whose lecture was titled "Choose Joy". It makes good sense. It's a lot harder when I'm tired and discouraged and just so stinking tired of doing the same thing over and over and feeling like I never get any results.... But maybe on those days, it's even more important. Because if you make it a habit of choosing joy, you are bound to get a reaction. And maybe it will be just the reaction you need to push you back into the season of delight, the season of "first love" with that career or class or family member or hobby.
And I'm going to need a little of that because the most recent conversation I eavesdropped on through the monitor was Emma telling Kelsey that she is always afraid to go into the closet to get anything because she's afraid the doorknob will stink and she won't be able to get out.
Kelsey's response: I know. That's why I hide food everywhere.
Choose joy.
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