Sunshine

 February 12, 2023

The sun is shining here in WNY, a rather rare occurrence, especially in February. Our normally dreary days are a particularly needling thorn in the flesh for sufferers of SAD, Seasonally Affective Disorder, but I think it affects even the most cheerful of optimists. I know that I have to discipline my mind to be thankful no matter what, lest the dreariness get inside me.

Today has been glorious, but not everyone is able to enjoy the sunshine. Friends of mine are grieving the loss of a loved one, while others are struggling merely to take another breath. Still others are navigating family issues that tear at the very fabric of their lives. And that’s just people I know. The earthquake in Turkey and Syria have topped the news stories this past week, even surpassing the war in the Ukraine and the Chinese spy balloon our government inexplicably allowed to transverse the entire country before taking it down.

Everywhere I look, there is suffering, sadness, and questions whispered in the dark. But everywhere I look, I also see grace and mercy. It’s a strange world in which we live, filled at the same time with joys and sorrows; we must choose which becomes the focus of our attention and our hearts. Choosing well is not always easy, but it is always necessary, for if we choose poorly, life becomes as dreary as a Western New York overcast day. 

When towards the end of his life, Joshua gave a farewell speech to the children of Israel. They had conquered the Promised Land, but were in danger of forgetting the God who had given them victory. Joshua’s final words included this gem: 

“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”” —Joshua 24:14-15 

Even when we feel hemmed in by our circumstances, we have the ability and the responsibility to choose the course of our lives. The details may be out of our control, but our responses to them are always within our ability. The forecast for the next few days here looks pretty good, making it easier to choose joy. But I know if the only time I am joyful is when the sun is shining, it isn’t really joy; it’s happiness. Happiness depends on what happens. Joy is my choice no matter what happens, and it is mine by the power of the Holy Spirit, the ministry of the Word of God, and the grace of my Lord Jesus Christ. And my choosing it.