Triple F needs JOY

Do you ever wish your path and purpose would be made crystal clear? I struggle with times of uncertainty.  I don't like not knowing where I'm going.  I will admit it...I'm a planner! The typical first born, list making, planner that likes to be in control.  At the beginning of this school year, I had a plan to finish my Masters degree at the end of next school year.  All was good until the university decided recently to change the location and night for the classes.  This change complicated my plan in a major way!  I spent the majority of this week trying to figure out a better plan and at one point I had decided to just give up...the give up option only lasted a few hours.  Then something major and tragic happened.  The vibrant and devoted mother of three of my former students was suddenly killed in a car accident.  All of my thoughts went from my problems to thinking of what this family was facing.  I heard someone say that they just didn't understand why so many good people and families have had horrible things happen to them lately.  This is a statement that would take several blogs to explain my thoughts about but when I heard this statement, everything suddenly snapped back into perspective for me.  My "Triple F needs JOY" order was restored.
"Triple F needs JOY" stands for FAITH, FAMILY, FRIENDS needs JESUS, OTHERS, and YOURSELF.  It is my combination of two ways I was raised to think about my priorities....maybe you grew up singing the JOY song too! Simply put.... My faith is about a personal relationship with Jesus.  My family needs to come before others and my family will be strengthened by my faith. And at times, my faith, family and friends, will NEED Jesus, others, and/or myself to get through life's challenges, and heartaches.   I could go into much greater detail of this but for now, this will suffice.
This order of life can so easily get skewed.  Jealousy, envy, anger, greed, and many other human feelings creep in and cause us to lose the focus on what matters the most and our perspective becomes offset.  Think about it....if our #1 focus and priority is our faith in Jesus, if we have a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus then when bad things happen, our greatest friend, Jesus, will give us our greatest strength to get through it.  We would also strive to live with love in our hearts, like Christ.....yes, this means resolving our issues with and loving those that we would rather never speak to or acknowlege they exist.  If we live with love in our hearts then our family and friends will naturally be at the forefront of our thoughts.
While I was looking for a crystal clear answer to my issue of what classes to take, I didn't have the right perspective.  I wasn't thinking "Triple F needs JOY."  I was thinking more along the lines of "How could they do this?  This doesn't fit my plan!!" Now, in no way am I comparing my school issue to the tragic loss of life.  I am saying that no matter how great or small our problem, or heartache is,  if we are living the "Triple F needs JOY" motto, then our perspective will be different. My thoughts of "why" and "how" turned to "ok, I am going to trust."  In moments of heartache and despair, we will still hurt but we will turn to our first priority and will feel a comfort and peace that passes all understanding.  In moments of confusion and roadblocks, we will find our way and be at peace with the path before us.  We have never been guaranteed an easy life.  Life is hard! However, even in the biggest, most difficult to understand moments in life, God is bigger and can bring understanding and peace if we stay focused on keeping him our priority.
"Triple F needs JOY" is a reminder to me that life is about more than me.  It is a guide to finding my way through life's storms, no matter how big or small, and for making every moment count.


Mark 12:30-31 ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these.”