Are you too burdened down with life to be happy?

I remember the show “Happy Days” staring Opie (Ron Howard) in his teen years. The show centered on a small town where everyone knew each other and everyone’s mortgage was always paid on time, the car never broke down, they lived in a beautiful house, dad had a job, mom and dad were still married and in the show there seemed to be this euphoric safe feeling that centered around joy and hope. There was no major family drama, no one died, no one got their heart broken and even the hamburgers and ice cream shakes at Arnold’s were always good.

It would be great if real life was like that show but it is not. We deal with issues such as financial, emotional, job, health and family. To some there are never happy days. To others they always find something to worry about that prevents the day from being happy. They carry the baggage and the load from day to day, week to week and relationship to relationship. To some that are dealing with real health issues, it is very understandable, but to others that have it all and still can’t find happiness, it is to these that I write this blog.

I have had friends that died early and others that have heart issues, health issues like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, financial issues and the list can go on. I believe we all really need to step back and realize what the gift of time really means. It means that you have today and you have right now. Elaine and I just got back from Alaska on a land excursion and a 7 day cruise and I read last week about those 9 people on a cruise that died on a float plane excursion. We took a small airplane on our trip as well. I think of the families and friends that were left behind after those 9 people died. Obviously they expected to take off in that plane and come back safe with stories, pictures and memories to tell. They didn’t get any of those 3 things.

We were at church Sunday and there is this gentlemen that welcomes everyone and he is probably in his late 30’s and it in a wheelchair. He is always a joy to talk to and always seems upbeat and happy to be there. Many of us that go to church, go to church burdened with life to the point that we cannot find happiness. We go in with long faces and come out with long faces.

The point is this; God help us to find joy and happiness while we still have a choice. Take an inventory of your life and ask yourself “should I be happy?” or is there a real reason I should not. Many if not most of us, should be happy. By choice, we choose not to see the hope for the future that should be all of ours.

I don’t know what your future holds any more than I know what mine holds. I do know who holds our future and I do know that he tells us to live life abundantly. One could interpret this writing to say “live life abundantly while you can.” KT