Kinda cool the way God works sometimes huh? Tonight, I had the opportunity to attend an On-Campus worship night with some of my amazing friends. If you don’t know, I live in a residence hall on my college campus that is Freshman through Senior. One of the perks of that is that I get to meet tons of new people, and this fall, God has blessed me with an AMAZING group of freshman guys that live in my hall that I’ve really got connected with. These guys are some of the goofiest, funniest, weirdest, and most authentic people I’ve ever met.
As we were at the worship night tonight, I took a few minutes towards the end to pick up my journal and do some gratitude journaling. Gratitude Journaling is truly life changing and if you don’t do it already, you should definitely start but that’s a story for another time. Different people do it differently and there really isn’t a wrong way to do it, but personally, when I write a gratitude journal, I simply write at the top of the page “Thank you Lord For…” and then make a list of 8-10 things that I’m thanking the Lord for that day. I never rush it, I just kind of jot them down as he puts them on my heart. As I was sitting there tonight, worshipping, surrounded by my friends who have become part of my family, one of the things that God really put on my heart to journal about was simply the gift of Goofiness and laughter. It’s something that I overlook on a day to day basis but I can’t help but think that it’s something that so many people don’t have and would love to have. For me personally, laughter truly is a form of medicine for my mental health. If I didn’t have goofiness and laughter on a daily basis, I would seriously become a very miserable person and I can’t help but wonder how many people are miserable because they don’t have laughter in their lives?
Different people would have different answers when it comes to this, but if you were to ask me personally “What’s the best part about having a relationship with Jesus Christ?” I would tell you it’s the joy that fills your heart. It’s hard to describe in words, but it’s a kind of joy that is contagious and absolutely life changing. When I first walked into my home church, The joy of the people was one of the first things I noticed and as I got to asking questions, my mentor explained to me that it was Joy that only comes from an Intimate personal relationship with Jesus. Part of the reason that I personally find so much joy in my relationship with Jesus Christ is that I know my purpose and I have a reason to wake up in the morning. You see, as believers, our purpose is all the same, it’s to glorify God with our lives and when we know why we’re doing what we’re doing every day, day in and day out, we can’t help but have joy.
I’ve wrestled with the question for a long time “Should I take myself too seriously?” or “How seriously should I take life?” and I think the conclusion I’ve come to is that taking your life too seriously only leads to pride, shame, or fear of looking foolish. Let’s be honest though, we’re human beings. We mess up every day, we’re awkward, and we fail, but it’s OK because one of the most freeing things is to (1)- Simply laugh at yourself and you can’t do that if you take yourself too seriously and (2)- Step back and realize that it’s all OK because God knows that we’re going to fail and gives us Grace which covers any sin, big or small. It’s when you begin to realize that nobody is perfect, and that nobody is better than you and vice versa that this really starts to make sense. Each and every moment of our lives is part of a much bigger story, but when it comes down to it, although we’re each important and so so loved, we are NOT the center of the universe, which is such a relief. You see, God wants 100% of us and sent his son to die for us so that we could have “Life and life to the fullest” (John 10:10) and to me, part of living life to the fullest, is having Fun, being goofy, and laughing a lot.
If you don’t have that relationship with Jesus and want to know more about it, drop me a comment. I would love to tell you about the joy I have in my life because of my intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Hope you guys have an amazing rest of your week!
Love in Christ,
- Jonathan