I choose joy.

I’ve been writing blog posts consistently since fall of 2012. In all that time, I’ve never had a guest writer on my site. But today that changes. With his permission, I’m sharing an article written by my son, who is a junior in college. He has been sheltering in place in his dorm room 1500 miles from home. As a Community Leader (RA) in his residence hall, he chose to stay at school, continue his job, and do classes online. There are twelve other students in the building who didn’t return home. In his role as a CL, he was asked to write an article for a weekly newsletter sent out to the 550 students who usually live in the community. When he shared what he’d written with me, I felt compelled to give it a broader audience. It’s a thought provoking perspective– especially coming from someone so young. I hope his words inspire and challenge you like they did me.

It seems like every day we hear more bad news. Coronavirus is still spreading. Shelter in place has been extended again. We haven’t seen our friends in weeks. Someone we know is sick. We are stuck at home with families we may or may not like but are definitely tired of seeing every waking moment. Our professor still hasn’t figured out how to unmute his microphone on Zoom. 

Often times when I talk to friends and family over Zoom or Facetime or text the conversation centers on coronavirus and sheltering in place. We talk a lot about how hard it is to be stuck at home, unable to see friends or even family in some cases. We talk about how long this might drag on and how much different online classes are. It’s not uncommon for me to feel more discouraged after these calls than before. When we talk only about the things that are difficult and only focus on what we have lost, it is hard to find any encouragement.

Things may not be easy and fun right now, but there is more to life than coronavirus. I think that too often we choose to let all the bad things in the world color our attitude and outlook on life. We choose to dwell in our sadness, frustration, and loneliness. The problem with this is that there will always be hardships, and even when we aren’t sheltering in place life won’t be perfect. So instead of sitting in loneliness and self-pity, I am going to choose joy. No matter the circumstance I am going to make a conscious choice to be joyful. 

Our happiness does not need to depend on the world around us, in fact if it does, we will be disappointed time and time again. The apostle Paul went through countless hardships in his life and ministry. He was imprisoned frequently, beaten repeatedly by both Jews and Gentiles, shipwrecked three times, and almost constantly in danger. Paul had every reason to be miserable and give up. But through all of it he did not lose hope and through all of it he remained joyful. As he sat in prison, Paul wrote to the Philippians, “The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.” 

Paul’s hope and joy did not come from this world, they came from God and his work in the world. Paul knew something that we would do well to remind ourselves of: we serve a God who is greater than imprisonment, greater than coronavirus, even greater than death. Just last Sunday we celebrated the resurrection, when Jesus rose triumphant over all of our sin. In the resurrection we have hope beyond this world, an assurance that no matter how dark the world may seem, God is greater. 

So, because of this we have a choice. We can choose to place our hope in the world and its uncertainty. There will be good times and bad times, and our outlook and attitude will change as often as the weather. Or we can choose to place our hope in God. There will still be good times and bad times, but we can choose to look beyond these to the God who made it all and has a plan for everything. I’m going to choose God. When I feel overwhelmed and when I feel completely alone, I am going to look to him. I am going to do my best to not let my circumstances determine how I feel, I am going to lean on God for hope and assurance. The world is only as dark as we allow it to be, all we have to do is ask and God will shine his light into the darkness. I’ll leave you with this verse: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

Photo by Emma Nelson