Ever Wonder Why You're Not Happy?

Are you tired of the struggle?  I am.  Each day we ask ourselves some of these questions:  Will it ever change?  Will we ever have enough money to pay the bills, let alone travel, drive dependable cars, or even enjoy the finer things in life?  Do I have to work at this job I hate for the rest of my life?  Will my family ever be normal?  Can the fighting just stop?  Do the lies have to continue?  Is marriage really this hard?  Will the drama at work ever end?  Do I have to be plagued with this illness until it kills me?  

I can, personally, own a few of those questions, and I bet you can think of more.  The only one I can answer honestly, and for certain, is the the first one.  "Yes, I am tired of the struggle!" And, I am willing to bet that you are too.  So, how do we live life without the struggle?  Is it possible to live a life full of joy, abundant in love, more than enough money, healthy, happy and carefree?

Turning on the news or picking up the paper immediately gives me the impression that I cannot live in THIS world with unconditional love, joy, security and financial peace that I am in search of.... In fact, the media hopes I will thrive on the drama and feed off of it...hopefully, to the point at which I even create more of it....just look at some of the "reality t.v", talk shows or sitcoms created for your entertainment.   I can try to ignore the news, but I still can't run from struggle.  It finds me.  It comes into my marriage, it follows the kids home from school, the pets create it, relatives and friends find ways to bring me the ones they have.  The house, all it's upkeep and the cost of living are forever adding to my hardship.  All the things that consume my emotions, time and energy in a negative way quickly cause depression, apathy, lack of motivation and a downright unhappy attitude about life.  I don't want to live that way.  In all my connections with people, I have yet to sit down with one person who says, "I want to live an unhappy life."  I have heard people say they deserve to be unhappy...and honestly, that is a lie from the pit of hell...they truly may deserve the consequences of the life they are living....but, God is merciful, and I am not judge...ok...that's a blog for another day....

I see joy in the world, and I know others who experience success and peace in many facets of life.  I read scripture, and I believe that God has created abundance for us to enjoy.  In return He desires us to give Him praise.  I think it IS just that easy!  We simply have the choice to live abundant and free or in lack and bondage. We have a choice to be selfish or thankful. We have a choice to drain the life out of people with our negativity or give and receive love.

My husband took a look through our wedding scrapbook (we have only been married 10 months) and he said, "I was reminded how happy we were, and I always want to live like that."  Do you  sometimes wonder what changed or went wrong in your life that caused you to lose your joy?  The truth is, we allow struggle to take the place of  joy.  We move over and let the problems have a seat. We give time and energy to what is negative instead of focusing on what is good.  When we are plagued with the troubles of life...here is what scripture tells us...

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8

Our world constantly changes.  Bad things happen to good people all of the time.  No one is exempt from hardships.  They come in different sizes, packages and to different degrees.  But, regardless of the packaging, struggle finds us all from time to time. The difference in the the happy people and the unhappy people is choice. Choose love, choose joy, choose peace whenever possible....and HOPE will get you through the rough days. It really is possible to enjoy the journey of life even if you don't like some of the days that go along with it! Give away as much love as you can...and you will find people who will return more to you than you can possibly receive!