“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.”—Proverbs 17:22 (NLT)

My verse to focus on for the month of May is Proverbs 17:22. As a daily reminder, it is also the screensaver on my phone. I can see how a broken spirit has been sapping my strength. Many days, finding joy in my heart has been a struggle.

I have made it a few weeks without writing about my mom. It is kind of hard for me to not discuss something that has altered by life. This past week when I went for acupuncture, the doctor asked me to look at him. When I did, he said, “you are happy.” I said, “I might be happier, but I am not happy.” He disagreed. I can honestly say, when I am not around my mother, I feel much lighter, but in her presence, I am walking on eggshells. With her Alzheimer’s I don’t know who I am going to get and what might set her off.

Full transparency, it hasn’t come easily for me to find the good on those days. Especially when my natural responses blind me from it. It is a choice for me to live joyously. Along with prayer, it takes effort on my part to choose gladness throughout the day. It has been a challenge with the negativity I receive from my mother. I was trying too hard to make her happy. The reality is; that’s not my role. Giving that to Jesus has definitely changed my countenance.

For my 8-minute car drive to her apartment, I turn off the radio and pray out loud. I ask for the Holy Spirit to fill me as well as supernatural strength for my interactions. Many times, the car ride home includes me asking for forgiveness due to some of my reactions to her behavior. My car has become my prayer room. Thankfully, we have Bluetooth in our cars, so people might just think I am talking on my phone. Well, I kind of am….Jesus is my friend who I can talk to anywhere and at any time! This is a reason to have joy in my heart.

Do you have a similar block of driving time where you can turn off your radio and talk to God? Or maybe rather than fall asleep watching TV, read a devotion, listen to an inspirational Christian podcast or worship music? Some evenings, that might the only way to settle your mind.

Is there an area in your life where it has been difficult to find happiness? Try putting Proverbs 17:22 as your screensaver on your phone/tablet as a reminder that a cheerful heart IS good medicine. The Message version reads: “A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.” I can definitely tell you, when I let my mother’s bad attitude affect my disposition, I am left emotionally exhausted. This isn’t how God wants me to live. Putting my focus back on the One who holds me (and my mom) in His hand is how I make it through those difficult days.

Father God:

Forgive me when I fix my eyes on my troubles rather than on You. Thank Yor for Your grace when my responses don’t glorify You. Help me to find joy in unlikely places. I know You can bring good out of the most difficult situation. It comforts me knowing You hold me and my loved ones in the palm of Your hand. I lift those up to You who are carrying burdens that are crushing their spirit. May they find glimmers of happiness in their day. I pray these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 May Verse

I have chosen Proverbs 17:22 as my verse for the month as a reminder to find the joy in all things.

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.”—Proverbs 17:22

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