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“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

Friday night we had five of our nieces and nephews since their parents were out of town.  After dinner, we headed to Putt-Putt which I haven’t done in years.  My husband promised each time someone got a hole in one they would get a dollar, so the competition began.  Out of our crew, I only had 1 hole in one.  My little niece who is four got three and that was without any help from any of us.  She loved it!!!

How did she do so well?  Sweet little Charlie wasn’t stressed at all – she simply hit the ball.  She giggled and laughed regardless of where the ball went.  Now the rest of us were stressing and overthinking how we could get that ball in the hole, and when we didn’t make it we were upset. Definitely not giggling like Charlie.

What a great picture of life, right?  We stress out over a lot of things we can’t control.  We get discouraged and frustrated easily and usually everyone around us knows it too.  But I wonder what would happen if we responded like Charlie – simply doing the best we can and then releasing it… not stressing or even allowing our defeats to overwhelm us.  A good giggle goes a long way.

When I think of my younger self (meaning 30s), I rarely got stressed out about stuff.  I rarely overthought what I was doing and it was definitely easier to not get discouraged.  As we age a lot of things get harder, feel more urgent, and yes, even defeat us quickly probably because we overthink it too much.

The sweet innocence of a child ushers in beautiful complete trust.  A heart that believes easily in the One who knew them before they even took their first breath.  Fearless and carefree, they attempt the hard stuff and embrace learning without getting entangled in doubt and worry.

So this week – here’s to a good giggle along the way regardless of how our week pans out.  After all, God doesn’t require perfection, He is only interested in us doing the best we can.  I’m sure He gets lots of giggles out of our reactions and probably also gets disappointed when we don’t turn to Him more instead of pressuring ourselves. Let’s be fearless and tackle the hard stuff with enthusiasm and confidence that our God is going before us, beside us and behind us.

“Sweet Jesus thank you for the abundant gift of joy that is truly found in Your presence.  Whatever we go through this day, put laughter on our lips and joy deep in our hearts.  Help us to do our best and leave the rest in Your capable hands.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life