LOOK FOR JOY—IT’S EVERYWHERE!
We can learn to look for laughter and joy in the many ordinary places where we go. When I go to our La Habra post office in the morning, the cement on the sidewalk outside is just plain blah gray. But if I go in the afternoon, when the sun hits it, the cement sparkles with a million transient diamonds! So, I usually go in the afternoon, looking for the joy that can bounce off that cement right into my life, to remind me of the sparkles all around us, if we are willing to look for them.But I repeat, you have to LOOK for the joy. Look for the light of God that is hitting your life, and you will find sparkles you didn’t know were there. Recently, a darling young mom who has four kids, all under six, called me and wanted me to come over and do some counseling with her. I said, “Four kids under six . . . would you like me to bring a baby sitter, or something?”"Oh, no,” she said, “I have a perfect solution. It’ll be no problem at all.”I thought to myself that this would be interesting. I wondered what she was going to do to keep four kids under six occupied while we tried to have a meaningful chat.I went over to her house, and we went out into the backyard. Then she took two handfuls of pennies and threw them into a large patch of ivy growing on the hill. Then she gave each of her four kids a plastic baggie and told them to look for pennies in the ivy.What a terrific idea! We had an hour of no interruptions. And, for all I know, she does the penny exercise every time she needs some time to concentrate or talk with someone. Anyway, it’s a wonderful idea because her kids are learning how to look for joy as they search for the pennies in the ivy.*27\316\2*
