What Does Happiness Mean to You Right Now?

This has been a year of challenges, frustration, heartache, and not knowing what to do next. We are left to our own devices to create some kind of normalcy in our homes. In about two weeks, we celebrate Thanksgiving and for sure, it will probably be quite different for many families. Let us just stop for a minute here and offer our condolences to any of our readers who have suffered unbearable losses. Our hearts are with you.

Many of these emotions are new to us and can feel awkward because we have lived a certain way and changes are occurring rapidly—some of them becoming permanent. The important thing to remember is even though this is a whole different way of looking at the world (masks, social distancing, grocery limitations, etc.) that doesn’t necessarily mean our lives are taking a turn for the worse if we keep our health intact.

Our outlook can eventually become one of encouragement and an incentive to change things for the better. For instance, we know of a person who is now permanently working full-time from home since her company has suspended “live” operations on-site for all employees and permanently closed its physical doors. This has been a blessing for her not to have to commute to work every day and, additionally, for her second grader who is now enjoying homeschooling and having mom nearby.

Open the Door and Get Some Fresh Air

“Happiness sneaks in through a door you didn’t know you left open.” (John Barrymore, American actor)

It’s true, some of us are feeling a bit isolated right now not being able to see our friends and family in person much. We are beginning to realize life may never really be the same as before this pandemic. So, the best effort we can make would be to “reinvent” our lives for the better.

We can start by figuring out what happiness currently means to us. Like right now. Today. This week. This month. It probably will be quite different than last year so really think about it. What is our number one need and how can we find a way to make that happen?

Would connecting with a friend be our current wish? That might mean picking up the phone to hear their voice instead of emailing or texting. Or maybe meeting for lunch in a park if we stay six feet apart. We not only will cause our own happiness but cause our friend some happiness too. Bingo!

Are we really missing out on some great food? True, we may not be able to go to our favorite restaurant if they don’t have dine-in service, but we certainly can go to the grocery store, pick up some items, go home, and surprise ourselves by trying out a new recipe. There will probably be leftovers for tomorrow too.

It’s possible we are going “stir crazy” staying at home so much. And even though we thought all our closets and drawers would get cleaned out and organized once and for all, it just hasn’t happened. So maybe gathering a few family members, packing up the car, and going camping for a few days will change our outlook drastically.

Where Is Our Happiness?

Okay, we get the idea. We can certainly go through that door and make our own happiness. Try out old things in a new way. Develop new daily routines. Let’s face it--we are the only ones holding ourselves back. Everyone is in the same boat right now so no sense making things worse by complaining, whining, and giving up. That’s not us. Life is a big challenge, especially now, but we are strong, determined women ready for anything. Let’s make it happen!

The last suggestion to move closer to happiness is to either continue praying or start praying for friends, family, neighbors, our cities, states, country, and the world that we will see an end to Covid-19 in the near future. Those are seven important categories, so maybe choose one each day and really pray for needs to be met whatever they are.  

God knows. 

God cares.

God helps.

He’s waiting to hear from us.

"Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found" (Psalm 119:35 NLT).

 

9 Ways to Make All Wrongs Right

Hate is never the answer to hate. History has proven this truth over and over. Yet there are those who still allow extreme, out-of-control emotions to fill themselves with hostility leading to violent attacks and aggression toward others. And, yes, sadly, loss of someone's life is almost always a part of it.     

“On a day like today, there are many directions we can go in our prayer...We can be in sorrow, in anger even...including anger at God for letting something like this happen." Instead, El Paso Rev Mike Lewis urged them [funeral attendees] to "have faith and to love one another, especially those who are hard to love.” (www.latimes.com)

Making Good Decisions Better

Let's be clear, though, and not get the wrong idea. In no way does God ever cause the hatred that can destroy others. Only pure evil lashing out with arms of fire can cause such violence.

“Scripture shows that God did not create evil and does not promote it; rather, it describes God’s actions in combating it. God limits the impact of evil, warns us of the dangers of evil, acts to stop the spread of evil, gives us an escape from evil, and will eventually defeat evil forever." [gotquestions.org] 

Something many people do not understand is the free will God willingly gives each one of us. He gave us that gift of free will because he loves us and wants us to make good decisions that will benefit our lives and those we love and that he cares about (which is everyone he has created). Never would God want us to use free will as part of a plan to kill others! 

Choices, Challenges, and Changes

How about our own choices and decisions since we became single-again women? It's understandable our own emotions were running high while dealing with all the challenges required to get to a better place in our lives. The shift in marital status alone may have caused a change of living arrangements, school (for both us and/or our children), new friends or a new job, and certainly finances. All stress-caused emotions. It certainly wasn’t easy looking in the mirror each morning at someone we didn’t even recognize. We've all been there in one way or another. We changed. We are still changing. Hopefully for the better.

However, it’s possible we are still not in a good place. Our lives are crawling very slowly, and they are not quite where we want them to be. We haven’t moved out of the anxiety phase and may even be heading towards depression. How many times have we pulled the covers over our heads in the morning? Pretended to exist solely on potato chips, cookies, and ice cream just because we couldn’t find the energy to cook a decent meal? It happens and is quite common but tolerated only to a certain degree. Eventually either we move or some outside force will move us. What we don’t want is watching our lives get buried in the mundane.  

Rather than ignoring all these unhealthy symptoms, it’s time to gain some momentum. We know we cannot change others around us (we’ve tried!), nor can they change us. We are the only ones who can do the changing and isn’t that a good thought? We finally get to create our lives exactly the way we want them. Something that may have held us back so far is thinking we need to re-create our old lives and we just don’t know where to begin. Frankly, that is the number one major stumbling block because our old life is gone. It's like trying to fix something without any workable parts. Our new life is here right now! And that is exciting because we are not going to re-create anything—we are going to start fresh.    

Get ready to have some fun! Here are nine ideas or suggestions that will set our feet in motion. Try one or all of them:

Choices – 

Adopt that new pet we’ve always wanted

Join a club (i.e., health, art, book) and make new friends

Pick a non-profit organization and volunteer

Challenges – 

Turn a hobby into a new business

Take a class in computer graphics, French, or cooking

Write a book (memoir, children’s, etc)

Changes – 

Move to a new neighborhood or state

Get a new hairdo, including color

Adopt a new nutrition plan and get healthier

It’s Simple: Love God and Love Others

Are we the one who can help lessen the impact of evil? Sounds difficult, but God obviously gave us the freedom of choice and gifts/talents to use. If we can find just one little way to show love to a neighbor or a stranger in need, it’s a start. We can decide to do our part. Will we?

“God has provided the one and only means to make all wrongs right.” Part of that plan is to accept Him as Lord and Savior and then help another to do the same before it's too late. “One day, God’s plan to defeat and destroy evil [sin] will be fully complete.” [gotquestions.org]

"The world's sin is unbelief in me" (John 16:9 NLT).