MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE

MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE

So lately I have been thinking about life and how we can let life issues swallow us up. The truth is it is very easy to dwell in the negative and the truth is very few people you tell will encourage you. Most people will either feel sorry for you or add to your sorrow.

So for the longest time it has been easier for me to see the negative side of things and to just see like life was unfair and was not seeing when I would get out of the rut I was in.

That is until I started to view things in a different perspective. I did not make sense why I would feel so bad about stuff and remain in my gloomy state and expect change. Something had to give. It may not have been immediate but something had to be done.

 I started with writing something I am grateful for each day. It could be as simple as the weather but it helped me view things differently. Sometimes I was forced to really think of something to be grateful for especially during the tough seasons. At that time even being grateful to get through the day will do.

Another thing I started to do is write a grateful list every end of year. You know you can just be glad a year is over because all you remember is how tough it was, then you sit and write a grateful list. I was so excited by the time I was done with some of my lists and realized the problem is that I kept dwelling on what when wrong I did not notice what went right or what I had learnt through that tough season.

I also started listening to worship music. Yeah it sounds cliché but the truth is the Lord really does dwell in the praises of His people. There is just something about an uplifting atmosphere that no matter how down you are you will get your spirit lifted.

 There is also sharing with people. As people say a problem shared is a problem halved. HOWEVER one should not talk to just anyone about your issues. Not everyone is helpful. Not everyone wants your circumstances to change. So pick the people you speak to wisely.

Distract yourself. Yes I mean take a break from the issues at hand. If possible go on a trip. I have found it very helpful to just change environments sometimes. It really helps to just be in a new place that doesn’t remind you of what is stressing you all the time. There is a friend who once told me that when she is low and stressed she would go volunteer in an abandoned children’s home and just play with the babies. She always felt so much better and was glad to give some joy to someone else. There are also people I know who go to an old people’s home and just listen to their wisdom and their life stories. There is no way you would leave such a place without a new perspective.

One thing I did this year is learn a new skill. I signed up for a class and it was a real challenge but I paid so much attention to what I was learning that I barely thought about issues that were bothering me. They did not go away but it certainly helped me get new perspective that no matter what is going on in one’s life, life goes on despite your problems. If you choose to only dwell on the problems you have life can easily pass you by.

My favorite on is to walk with someone either as a mentor or in discipleship. Helping a young person trying to figure out life especially when you have passed through that stage makes you feel that you are not a total failure after all. When you look at your life through a young person’s eyes it makes you realize just how much you have accomplished.

We need to learn that we are not the only ones who go through stuff and even what we are going through we are not the first ones nor will we be the last ones. Our issues may seem like a big deal when we are going through them but the truth is that you will always find someone who went through worse and they either came out victorious or miserably failed.

All in all making a joyful noise means accepting to live a full life beyond your circumstances. Joy is more than happiness. It is a state of living. It is knowing that tough times do not last but tough people do. It is know that we will be stronger at the end of this trial. It is knowing that this situation will not last forever. It is knowing that good times are ahead.

 Make a joyful noise.