Sometimes little snippets of truth sneak up on me and tap at my brain like a little toddler tugging at an arm or leg for attention. Well, imagine a little toddler when you don't have any children and you are in the house alone.
Willa at In a Spacious Place had a link to this young person's literary magazine where the following quote surprised me: Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. (Confucius).
The surprise is not the idea; I've thought that a billion times. The surprise was how this quote found me (hence, the toddler invading the isolated place image). It found me listening to one of my "favorites" from my old mental tape collection: "I'm not made for happiness; I'm made for drudgery."
Intellectual conviction, meet internal emotional environment. And try not to get whiplash.
Happiness is not irresponsible. Joy is not dangerous. Freedom is real and it is ok to employ it towards what I desire, as that is how God leads me to Himself.
Does anyone else out there find it necessary to remind him/herself of these things?
3 comments:
Love it, Marie! I love how you are not afraid to "play" the mental tape for us. Especially because it often matches my own! And, yes, the truth of the "aha" moment that followed is right on the money for me, too. Although, I'll admit that if someone had shown me a movie of what I would be doing day in and day out, I probably wouldn't have chosen this path. What other job has every other job description in the world rolled into it? I'm a singular kind of gal that doesn't multi-task well.
ps. Thanks for praying for the folks in Houston. My mom's house, though it got a direct hit from the storm, was spared. My husband's family is without power and will likely be so for weeks. Not pleasant, at all, but at least nobody was hurt and there was no real damage.
"Does anyone else out there find it necessary to remind him/herself of these things?"
Oh, yes! I used to remind myself that Paul said for slaves to get their freedom if they were offered the chance. So, it wasn't always wrong to go for happiness. Why this is so much harder for some people to understand temperamentally it is for others, is mysterious, but no doubt a combination of nature and nurture. For me, it's been a lifelong process. And it makes things really interesting when you homeschool!
I always liked the way C.S. Lewis described his mom's family. He said they went for happiness the way some people went for the best seat on a train.
Great image! Going for happiness like some people go for the best seat on the train.
Angela -- glad to hear your people are safe in Houston.
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