Sometimes life just isn’t easy. There are seasons where your head just doesn’t pop off the pillow the way you’d like it too. It sounds far better to hide in bed and forget the world outside exists.

Sometimes, those seasons pass on their own. One day you wake up – and life has meaning again! There is zest for life bubbling out of you and your smile is contagious. No mountain is too high! No ocean is too deep! Basically, you are invincible. Your attitude screams “Bring it on!”.

Unfortunately, the change from hiding to thriving isn’t always automatic. Sometimes it starts with a choice.

My husband, Luke, is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. We’ve been together for ten years, and he still impresses me with how wise and strong he is. We were in the car the other day, enjoying our hour long drive to visit family, and our conversation turned to the topic of being who you have to be. He was telling me how he’s realized that, although he may not feel like it, he sometimes just needs to choose to be strong. He has to choose to be confident. He has to choose to put aside his own stresses of the day so he can care for me in the ways I need. He told me that sometimes life just requires you to be who you have to be.

This perspective helped me. I’ll be honest – I don’t like doing the dishes. I don’t enjoy getting up early for work in the mornings. I kind of hate scheduling doctor’s appointments and having to figure out what to do about health insurance. But the truth is, I am an adult. These are my responsibilities. I have to take care of these things. I have to choose to be who I have to be.

It is good for us to realize that a lot of the time we just have to get up and get stuff done. Honestly, if we take a step back for a bigger look, we’ll probably see that it’s not even that big of a deal. Maybe if we choose to thrive, we will.

Let’s look at James 1:1-2,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

I feel like sometimes the daily grind really is one of the trials this verse speaks about. Day in and day out, we need to have faith that Christ is with us, giving us the strength we need to be there for our family and other people we come across. We cannot do the daily grind without Him. As we have faith that He is with us, we are able to persevere and become mature and complete, lacking nothing. All this through a choice to have faith that He will be with us – even in the mundane.

Today, maybe you need to make a choice. Maybe that choice is to make a phone call, run an errand, or work on a project. Maybe that choice is to get out of bed and choose to make it a good day. Sometimes joy has to be chosen. Sometimes you have to work to make it a good day. Sometimes we have to choose faith.

Whatever it may be, put a smile on your face and make the best of it. There comes a point where you can continue to wish it were different, or you can get up and make a change. There is much to be enjoyed today, if only we take a second to look for it.