Eeyore..

      When I was younger, my nickname was "Eeyore". My parents and grandparents compared me to the downtrodden, tail-losing, Winnie the Pooh character for the simple reason I was a cranky and sad child. I spent most of my days lamenting what was so horrible about my life. My attitude was that of someone who did not care about life, and had no happiness or joy to speak of. It was pretty rare that I smiled or laughed or allowed myself to enjoy being alive. 

      I never liked being this way, and I never liked being the negative person people had to tolerate being around. So, one day I decided I was not gonna be cranky anymore; I decided that I was going to be a happy and joyful person. I went to bed elated with my decision, and you know what happened when I woke up the next morning? Nothing. 

       You see, I had decided I was going to be joyful. I made this choice for myself, and I thought that I could change how I viewed the world within my own power. 

    As I turned it over in my head over and over again, I couldn't wrap my mind around why I was still "sad". Why am I still so upset? Why am I not happy? I decided I was going to be, so why aren't I? What I had forgotten to consider was actually the most important part. That I could not make myself happy, and I could not find joy where there was none. It says in Bible, Nehemiah 8:10, "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.". The joy of the Lord. 

The joy of the Lord. I had forgotten that joy does not come from within myself, but from the Lord our God. The giver of all hope and joy.

         Once I realized this, everything did change. I am now a incredible joyful person. My outlook on life has changed from that of disgust and distaste, to one of wonderment and excitement. If you take anything away from this post today, remember that through God we can all have joy. No matter what you're going through and where you are in life, it truly is all in how you look at it! 

     -Meranda