“Joy is what makes life worth living, but for many joy seems hard to find. They complain that their lives are sorrowful and depressing. What then brings the joy we so much desire? Are some people just lucky, while others have run out of luck? Strange as it may sound, we can choose joy. Two people can be part of the same event, but one may choose to live it quite differently than the other. One may choose to trust that what happened, painful as it may be, holds a promise. The other may choose despair and be destroyed by it.What makes us human is precisely this freedom of choice.” – Henri Nouwen
Wow! This is so true. I know for a fact this is truth because I have experienced this first-hand in my own life. When my husband passed away, I had only two choices: cling to God, putting my hope and trust in Him, or run from Him and carry the bitterness and pain in my own strength. I chose to cling to God and He gave me joy! Out of death has come joy and life. But I had to make the choice. And if I had chosen the other option, I would have far less joy in my life and bitterness and despair would rule me.