Excited about Poopy

We started potty “learning” this week and it has been a constant reminder that sometimes you just have to get excited about poopy! It’s a metaphor of sorts.

Maybe it’s just little stuff that is dragging you down, like missing the sunshine. Seasonal depression always looms around our house this time of year. Maybe you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Maybe it is something bigger; a constant fear or loneliness. Maybe you are mourning a loss. Whatever it is that you may be going through, I’d like to share a verse that helps me:

James 1:2-4
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

I have read this verse many times but never have thought much about the word “perseverance.” Why was this word chosen? And, ultimately…why do we want to develop perseverance? I decided to look it up (source).

Perseverance (noun)
1. Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

That’s what I thought it meant; nothing unexpected there. I looked at the synonyms on the thesaurus tab and there are many words listed that are very descriptive and appear appropriate substitutes. (I also learned a new word - - moxie - - but I don’t think I’ll ever use it because it just sounds dirty, doesn’t it? But you might want to just file that one mentally under “Words that you never use but come in handy when playing Scrabble/contain an X.”) I particularly like the ones in bold.

Backbone, constancy, continuance, cool, dedication, determination, doggedness, drive, endurance, grit, guts, immovability, indefatigability, moxie, persistence, pertinacity, pluck, prolonging, purposefulness, pursuance, resolution, sedulity, spunk, stamina, steadfastness, stick-to-itiveness, tenacity.

So what is different about “perseverance?” Looking even closer at the definition I see something more. I notice that it is the only one that also lists a theological definition.

Perseverance (noun)
2. Theology. Continuance in a state of grace to the end, leading to eternal salvation.


…that’s why.  And I think understanding that helps.  Do you agree?

Proverbs 3:5-6

Grandma Ninon passed away last Thursday.  She was 86 years old and lived a good long life.  Saying that she was a devout Christian her entire life is a big understatement.  Christ was the center of her world and every word or thing that she did showed that.  I received a letter from her in the mail the day after she died.  In her letters she would always write a verse in them for me to look up. 

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

She couldn't have picked a better verse, it is so fitting.  I have been thinking a lot about her and her life and I am so struck by what an amazing woman she was.  First of all, just living 86 years is amazing.  "She was born in 1923 on the family farm" reads her obituary.  She was born on the family farm.  I have been thinking about all of the events that she lived through.  I wonder how many times the economy went from low to high to low again in the past 86 years.  I think about wars, presidents, and world events.  So much of what I read about in history class - she endured.

One of my family members shared at the prayer service that Grandma and Grandpa had survived a fire, losing everything that they owned.  I had heard about the fire, but not that they had lived in a chicken coop for a year to get by after that.  A chicken coop.  Next time I complain about anything I will try to remember this. 

"Ninon was preceeded in death by her parents; husband; four brothers; and a sister."  Everyone in her immediate family died before she did.  Imagine what that would be like.  She was married for 64 years before my grandpa passed away in 2006 and bravely faced those next almost four years of life without him by her side as he had been every second before he passed.  How do you live with someone every day for 64 years and then suddenly carry on without them?

And through all of this she carried a smile on her face.  I don't remember seeing her without a smile on her face.  Ever.  Ever.  In fact, we don't remember Grandma Ninon ever crying, unless she got to laughing so hard that tears started to roll down her face (which at times was followed by her peeing her pants).  She saw every experience in a positive way, fully trusting that God had a plan for her life.  Her faith, talking to God, and praying for others was always the most important thing.  Throughout everything.

Five minutes before her last breath we are told by the staff at the nursing home that the french doors leading out to the courtyard that are always locked (it was nighttime and the courtyard is full of snow) suddenly blew open.  We all know that angels were coming to take her home.  Goodbye for now Grandma, I will see you again someday.  Until that day I pray that I can have faith like yours.

Pure Simple Joy

This past year it happened to be Saturday October 10th. No way. I looked out of the window first in disbelief, and then in sheer excitement. “IT SNOWED!” I shouted it through my house as I laughed, then I picked up Hannah and spun her around turning her look of confusion to a big smile. There was an entire eighth of an inch of snow on the ground, but it had blown and drifted into the creases of my patio chairs to what appeared in my exaggerative nature to be at least an inch deep. YESSSSS! I immediately sent my dad a text message to tell him the good news. He sent me back a picture of snow on his porch as well. The news was all over Facebook. It was impossible to wipe the smile off my face. 

In that moment nothing else mattered.

If only I could save that feeling in a jar and open it every morning. While I can’t do that, I am trying to focus on having pure simple joy; a joy that isn’t bound by age, possessions, a job title, or circumstance. Someday, I will look back on my life and if I wasn’t able to say that I had joy…what a regret that would be. I hope to share that joy with you through what I write and my photography on this blog.