"You Can Live a Happy Life..."

I listen to wa-a-y too much talk radio. And I am a worrier. A bad combination. The economy is going down the tubes. Our politicians can't be trusted. They've outlawed light bulbs. Terrorists want to blow us all up. Marriage and families are in crisis. Natural disasters are happening everywhere. And any time now The Big One could shake the Williamette Valley and leave us all grasping our 72-hour kits and wishing we had more food storage. My garden stunk this year, and everyone I know is having all kinds of problems. You get the picture. Worm-eating time. bleah

One day recently as I was driving, mulling all this over, a phrase from a song you know came drifting through my mind:
"You can live a happy life in this world of toil and strife..." (Hymn 228, specifically verse 4).

Wow.

And I got to thinking: If I'm waiting for the world to be perfect and problem-free before I'm happy, I'm gonna be waiting a l-o-o-ng time. What if I'd been a pioneer, forced out of my home in mid-winter at the point of a gun? What if I'd lived during the Great Depression or the flu epidemic of 1918? What if I'd lived in Europe during WW1 or 2? Surely there were people then who coped and were happy? Good grief! I've got it soooo good!

Then the song rolled on in my mind to the "if." "If there's sunshine in your heart." And I realized (what I'm sure you know) that the sunshine, the sun is...the Son.

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the word: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12)

As long as we have the Savior in our hearts, we can handle anything this old world can throw at us. We can "do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth us."

You've heard all the talks about looking for the good, enjoying the journey, noticing the little things that bring happiness. I just wish I could remember them more often!

Sometimes when I'm starting to panic, I have to stop and focus on the moment: the smell of baking bread, the sound of my son practicing the piano, the feel of my soft bathrobe, the fact that I'm safe right now. The Savior is aware of me and my family; He loves us. He is watching over us and will help us through whatever may come.

You probably know these things already, but I need to write it down, so that when I forget again in a couple of weeks, I can come back here and remember:

I can live a happy life in this world of toil and strife if there's sunshine in my heart...