A week or so ago I had to make a trip to the post office. I have been letting my daughter do most of the driving as she is preparing to get her license in just a couple of months. As we were leaving the post office parking lot she told me she wanted to drive through the little area where you can drive up, roll down your window and drop your mail in the box.I told her we did not have anything to mail and she said: “that is okay, I just want to drive through it because it looks fun!” I thought to myself you have got to be kidding and I replied to her, “it is not fun!” She looked at me with a very serious look on her face as she was preparing to exit the parking lot and said “well, it might not be fun for you but it will be for me because I have the fun gene and you do not!” I laughed, literally out loud. The “fun gene”, where does she come up with this stuff.
A few days later, after a very crazy week at my house had settled down, I thought again about her statement. I am a generally a happy person but somewhere along the way I am thinking that I have lost my “fun gene”. I can have a great time and enjoy some laughs but when did I quit having fun in the little things. I used to get told all the time that I was so much fun. I am quite sure my daughter would laugh at the mere thought. Why has life become so serious? Why have I not taken the time to recognize the little things that are actually meaningless, trivial, and sometimes time wasters? I know that sounds kind of dumb but seriously, why do we constantly feel like we need to be accomplishing something? I am not saying we can be this way all the time but where do we allow our inner child to come out and just be silly?
If you are like me I feel like I need to be a pillar of order to my daughters, granddaughter, and women around me, that has my act together. I feel like taking time for silly things like driving through the post office drop box lane would somehow tarnish my mature reputation or keep me from something important. Seriously, think about that for a second. In the scope of eternity, what would a few second drive through the mail drop box really matter? It was a memory making opportunity lost. Our family has lost some precious people in our lives recently. I was reflecting on some of their lives and it made me think, I want no regrets! I want to love my family with everything in me when it is my time I want them to all say without a shadow of a doubt, that they knew I loved them. I also want them to remember fun times. I want them to have funny stories to tell about me that they can look back and laugh at together. In order to do that, I must get to work on re-finding my fun gene, because little does my daughter know but it is in there. I am actually where she got her “fun gene” from. It has just been buried by the burdens of life.
This summer I was given a bracelet that simply says joy on it. I have worn it every day since and it has really been a great visual reminder to keep my joy. My joy does not depend on my circumstances but the attitude of my own heart. Don’t lose your joy, and stop looking at all the negative and life sucking things around you. Life is short and you have no idea how much time you have left. Make it count! Keep your joy, have some fun and make some memories! As for me, I am taking my daughter back to the post office and we are going to drive through the post office drop box lane, maybe more than once and we aren’t going to mail a thing! Philippians 4:4…Be full of joy in the Lord always. I will say again, be full of joy. Enjoy the little things, be silly and have fun!
Until Next Time…
robynstroup 
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