Looking for joy

Yesterday while I was running, I felt joy welling up inside me and realized that I had a smile that was covering my face.  I was delighted with the Colorado blue sky, the sounds of birds, the sun on my face, and my new-found ability to run.  It sounds like an oxymoron, but running is the time when I let my brain slow down and think.  My life is so task and deadline driven that I sometimes feel like I have fallen out of the raft on a white-water river and all I can do is try to keep my head above the water and avoid slamming into rocks.  I decided while I was running that I need to be intentional about looking for joyful moments.  I started running with the goal of loving it.  I had no lofty ideas about distance or speed, I just wanted to get out there and enjoy it.  And it worked...I LOVE RUNNING!  If a short, non-athletic person such as myself can find joy in running, shouldn't I be able to find joy in other places too?

I started a mental list (I'm known for my lists!) of places where the mother-lode of joy might be found.  Mine looks like this: moments with my husband and my son, time spent with friends and family, hearing kind words from people who are close to my heart, listening to the waves of the ocean or the babbling of a river, watching the light of understanding turn on for my students, being in the sunshine taking in the blue Colorado sky, spending time with my students, listening to beautiful music, singing and worshiping with my church family, playing piano and guitar, running.  Those are all amazing gold mines of joy for me, but I realized the best place to find lasting joy is in the presence of God.  I need to choose time with Him and practice being in His presence.  I need to climb in the raft being guided by Jesus and float down the river and enjoy being with Him!