Life is stressful. We have bills to pay, lunches to pack, carpools to drive, forms to sign. We have papers to grade, lessons to plan, dogs that need flea medication, and sheets that need washing.

But here, in the craziness, in the late hour of forgotten last-minute homework projects, He waits. He says, “It’s just for a moment.”

When tempers fly and dishes pile up and we can’t find the diaper wipes and the dog got into the trash, He waits. He says, “It doesn’t matter.”

In the quiet moments of the early morning after an argument, and in the late hours after a disagreement, He says, “Tell me about it.”

Do we have time to choose joy?

How can we NOT choose joy, because life is precious and every second counts and our kids are growing and changing right before our eyes. In a blink of an eye, they are adults, making their own choices, both good and bad, and the only real influence we have is the power of suggestions and the hope that our example was a good one.

How can we not choose joy when the Spirit waits and reminds us to be still, and know he is God?

It’s when we let the world distract us from all our blessings that the joy gets lost.

For today, I choose joy. Instead of noticing my son’s messy room, I will notice how his profile reminds me of my father, especially his smile.

Instead of being annoyed that my daughter used my makeup and left the hair dryer plugged in, I will smile at her plucky spirit and her wonderful talent for storytelling, and how she’s at my side without a word when I cry.

Instead of being irritated that my husband hit the snooze button too many times this morning, I will be thankful that he has a job that fulfills him and that takes care of us financially.

Instead of cursing under my breath when the slice of cheese I was putting on the sandwich fell on the floor, I will be thankful that there’s another slice, because we have plenty of food to eat and nobody goes to bed hungry. Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.” Ecclesiastes 9:7.

Today, I choose joy, and I turn to the One who waits for me.