"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." John 15:12
It was approximately sixteen years ago when my husband was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Although he has been very blessed with a slow progression form of MS, the doctor gave two immediate pieces of advice at his initial diagnosis. The first suggestion was to take up swimming, as swimming utilizes the most muscles during one workout. In addition, due to his unpredictable instability, the second piece of advice the doctor shared was "stay off tall ladders". Two jobs that Ken quickly became ineligible to accomplish were painting the outside of our house and hanging Christmas lights.
Having two brothers that are professional painters helped to resolve the first problem. And months later, a little postcard from a "start-up" father/son Christmas decorating company provided the solution for the second dilemma.
Being one of their very first customers for the past sixteen years, in addition to the growing demands of their business, the owners keep offering Ken a cheaper discount in return for the earlier that Ken agrees to let them hang the lights. So imagine my surprise when I opened my garage door to go to work on the morning of October 1st only to find their truck in my driveway and both of them preparing to hang our Christmas lights!
Yesterday, we were very blessed to have Pastor Michael Heiden come and lead our Chapel worship. The topic of his message was "Choose Joy". To help illustrate his point, he brought a wrapped Christmas gift and made the comment, "I know that it is only October, but it's never too early to experience the joy of Christmas." Immediately, I thought of my freshly hung Christmas lights with new perspective and appreciation!
As Pastor Heiden was encouraging all of us to live a life where we "Choose Joy", he gave us an acronym for remembering how to successfully accomplish this task:
Jesus
Others
You
To obtain true joy in our lives, we always need to keep Jesus first in our lives. Next, we need to think and serve others before ourselves. When we keep life in this perspective and priority, joy will always prevail.
Have a wonderful week, and let the joy of your love for Jesus shine brightly for all to see.
In His Love,
Mrs. Palka
Talk About It At Home
- What are things that bring you true joy?
- How can we share the joy of Jesus with others?