My sister Jennie wrote a post on her blog recently that I loved, so I asked if I could share it as a guest post. Some of you might know Jennie, and know that she experienced the death of her best friend early this spring and how hard that has been for her.
She writes:
If you could buy happiness, how much would you pay?? Do you need an extra dose of it today? Sometimes I wish you could just go out and buy a pound. Buy one get one free type of thing. :) I would have bought quite a lot this summer.
Earlier this spring/summer I had reached probably the lowest point in my life so far. I just wanted to sleep all day…or die. I didn’t feel like I had a good enough reason to live and basically I felt like I could never be happy again.
Dad always comes thro with his love and wisdom. There I was: tears streaming down my face…with feelings I won’t even try to describe….they were that awful. There he was: he had dropped all his work in the barn just for love, just for me. (I’m sure he was in the middle of milking)…yet he was willing to step into my grief with me…he came into the house to talk.
Of course as such deep matters go…nothing is cured instantly. But the talk did me good. I got thro that day. And then the next. And the next. Every once in awhile I would think back to his one little text he sent me afterwards…a little priceless gem of truth. “When you are so unhappy; do things for others and watch them become happy. It brings you happiness to watch them.” At the time it seemed discouraging and sad and no fun…yet it gave me something to try. It gave me something to do…something to work towards.
This morning while I was sitting here in the quiet rocking Morgan I suddenly realized it works! Bringing joy to others makes me happy. It brings purpose to my life.
I remembered that verse… “cast thy bread upon the waters and after many days it shall return.” There is a quote that says, “Do good, throw it in the water; if the fish does not know it God does.” So in other words: waste your kindnesses on others. It might seem like a worthless cause. Sometimes they might not even notice… but give and give… and be kind always.
And how does this make one happy you might wonder? I’m not even sure… I can’t explain it…but it seems to work! Try it.
***
Jennie Zimmerman is wife of Jeff and mother of three little girls. Some of her hobbies are cooking and baking, interior decorating, online scrapbooking, and writing. She blogs at My Everyday Moments at https://jenniezimmerman.wordpress.com/
Feature Photo at the top is courtesy of C. Smucker Photography.