What isn't on my Christmas list, but that I'd happily take on.

So I've been sitting here thinking quite a bit today. I guess I've just been in a pensive mood. As I was pondering the mysteries of the universe (not really) it dawned on me that we all spend so much time trying to dodge and avoid any kind of pain or discomfort whether it be physical pain or emotional distress. Obviously physical pain is a good thing to avoid. Pain is our body's way of telling us that something isn't right. However, I believe that emotional distress can take on an entire facet of it's own. I think there are some times (and only we know when there times are appropriate) that just sitting through the pain is more beneficial than trying to escape its torturous jaws. Lets break it down for one second. We cannot become numb to pain and sorrow without shutting off the feelings of joy and all that is coated in whipped cream and shimmering flecks of glitter. (Pumpkin pie just isn't the same with out whipped cream. Had to throw that in there.) Sometimes there is absoloutley nothing we can do to avoid those less than desirable feelings that seem to engulf us in sorrow, yet many of us try to run and fight this. I think Heavenly Father honestly wants us to perch ourselves on the banks of "the blahs" at times as we wait for our very own ships of felicity. It's the Lord's way of tempering us the way a blacksmith tempers steel. I suppose in this case, the Lord is the blacksmith, and we are the steel being tempered at His will so that we may be molded into the children of God the Lord knows we can blossom into. All we have to do is work through the biting anguish that seems to hold us all captive at some point in our lives. There is opposition in all things. There's hot and cold. Sweet and bitter. High and low. Calm and catastrophic. Happiness and sorrow. Without hot, how would we know what cold is? Without the bitter, how would we recognize sweet? It works the same way with happiness and sorrow. Without sorrow we wouldn't know what happiness was. We'd have nothing to compare it so and therefore we would take happiness for granted. With that said, I truly believe that the Lord blesses us when we withstand the adversities placed in our path by increasing our capacity to experience true joy. I'm not saying I'm asking for a life of adversity on my Christmas list this year. But what I am saying, is that when life seems to suck, somewhere out there there's a patch of blue in the gray sky. After the storm, the grass becomes greener. And the deeper the sorrow, the higher we can sail in the breezes of bliss. It's up to each and every one of us to make the most of every situation. Sometimes all we need to gather the blessings the Lord is desperate to bestow on us is to thrive in the midst of misfortune. I share this with you from the bottom of my heart.
Much love,
Joycie.

P.S. Don't expect warm notes too often. I'm maxing out my "warm moments" quota for the month haha