Blessings Abound and I have full joy!

In the end of January, Shane and I spent a week in Jamaica at an all inclusive resort.  It was an amazing and unforgettable trip.  Travel always gives me a new perspective on my every day.  Sometimes I long to go back because home seems mundane after trekking into the grand canyon on mule-back or having lunch at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.   Sometimes I come home missing loved ones I visited.   Sometimes the hours of travel required to get home and jetlag are exhausting and I'm just trying to recover.   Sometimes I feel like I need a second vacation to recover from a family vacation.  But as we've gotten back into a home routine, my blessings have been staring me in the face day after day.  My healthy family, warm home, and a pantry/fridge/freezer full of good food.  Jamaica was an absolutely beautiful place, with an even more beautiful people with beautiful spirits and in my 5 short days there, I hope I learned something.

It has been a rough, hard, moody winter for me.  But I had a chance to go stay in a place where my comfort was paramount.  Where if I needed anything at all, someone will provide.  And then we went outside the resort and saw the countryside where again....things were provided solely for my comfort.  In a place where people live without electricity or running water....where planting fruits that will feed your family is the first thing done when setting up a home.....where construction workers fill water bottles in puddles from the street they are working on.  And they are happy!

Not just Happy......JOYFUL.  We learned a new word from Noel (one of our guides).  He asked that we have "full joy" on our river trip.  He wanted to make us full joy.    We said something about enjoying the trip down the river and he said "No, enjoy is like at a funeral....where joy ends"   FULL JOY!

Noel was awesome!  

They are also predominantly Christian,  98%.  You may disagree but I think American Christians could learn a few things from them.  First of all, they weren't shy about it.  Before dinner, the waitstaff sang a couple worship songs and prayed the Lords Prayer.  It was beautiful.  As we were talking to people, they had zero concerns about political correctedness and when they thought something was wrong they called it.  They live in a country with no "safe spaces"....there are serious problems.  They don't seem to have time or energy to waste on being offended all the time. It was refreshing.

I will be the first to admit, we stayed in safe, controlled areas.  The country was on military alert while we were there (our bus was even checked by armed military guards).  It was important for us to be smart.  I am sure there are people who don't fit in this perception I have of the country.  But for the few days we were there and the experiences we had, my overwhelming impression was that of happiness and joy.

We are a whiny and entitled society and it is embarrassing.  So I have challenged myself to WRITE DOWN at least one blessing, one thing that gives me "full joy" every day.  Not just think about it.  WRITE IT DOWN!

I don't really do the "word of the year" that so many of my friends do.  But this year, even in my moodiness, blessings just keep popping out all around even in totally unexpected places..  I have so many reasons to have "full joy" every single day.  Not to say that I wasn't blessed before (cause that hasn't really changed)....but that I am being made more aware. And it is fantastic.