It is my life’s mission to find A Jesus Moment in every day. What’s A Jesus Moment? Hang with me, I’m getting there.
Have you ever gotten to the end of a day and thought “this was a horrible day?” I’ve done that more times than I care to admit. Living here somewhere between Eden and Heaven bad things are going to happen. We will have days or stretches of time that seem horrible and are filled with horrible things. Personally, I know the pain of abuse, and I live with a life threatening incurable illness, Mast Cell Disease. It’s basically, allergic to life. Daily I’m living with the possibility of going into anaphylaxis, a life threatening allergic reaction. I’ve had more than 50 of those in the last four years. It’s scary, and some days feel as if they’re completely horrible. It can make you want to quit.
In my own life, I’ve had friends ask me “how do you do it? How do you make it through?” I realized simply saying “it’s God” wasn’t enough. I had to sit and think. How do I live with the unknown, and live through it with joy? When I look at my life by the numbers, or used epinephrine injectors, I admit it doesn’t seem so great, but I don’t see it that way. I feel like I have a good life. I have joy. Having the joy of the Lord is vital to my personal survival it keeps hope alive, and gives life to me. One of the best ways I know is to look for A Jesus Moment
I know, next question: what’s A Jesus Moment? It’s finding just one moment in every day, or every situation. When something good happens, no matter how small, it’s a reminder of God’s love for us. It also happens to be a guaranteed way to never have a completely horrible day.
By now you may be rolling your eyes; I was mentally rolling my eyes when someone taught me this. I’m not saying you can avoid a day filled with bad things, what I’m talking about is a change in perspective.
I don’t really remember the topic of the day, but a conversation with my counselor is part of what started this journey of making it my mission to never have a completely horrible again. I had been in a time where I was extremely depressed. I know mental illness very well. Days stretched on, one blending into another, and it seemed like an endless string of horrible days. My head knew Jesus was always with me, but my heart just wasn’t getting it. I’ll paraphrase her some. My counselor told me when I got to the end of the day and found myself thinking how the day was completely horrible, she wanted me to do one thing. She told me to find just one thing that wasn’t horrible about the day. That didn’t seem so hard, but it didn’t seem that life changing or even interesting.
What did seem interesting was the giant Mr. Potato Head at the end of the table. (Was he really just for kids?) Spud was at least two feet tall! He seemed much more fun than the current conversation. She asked me to tell her one thing that wasn’t horrible about that current day. She said say anything, even something small. I don’t remember my answer, but I’m guessing it had to do with coffee, chocolate, penguins, or one of my cats. I still wasn’t fully grasping the point. I’m pretty sure Mr. Potato head wasn’t impressed either, although since he had no ears at the moment, maybe he just hadn’t heard her.
Then she spelled it out for me. Finding one positive thing meant even if there were ninety-nine bad things, there was still one good thing that happened that day. That made sense in theory, but I was skeptical of how it would actually make a difference. Mr. Potato Head seemed interested though, I mean he had his eyes wide opened and never blinked (his ears were also finally where they belonged), so I agreed to try it every day for a week. I was also suddenly hungry for French fries and potato chips. (I wonder why?)
For the next week I had to intentionally find something good every single day. Mentally, I wasn’t in a good place, and I admit it I did this grudgingly at first. At night I was thinking “stupid assignment” as I tried to come up with my one thing to write down. Then, it became easier. I found myself smiling before I fell asleep. I began to add more than one thing to each day because I was seeing things in a different light. I was actively looking for something good throughout the day. The list wasn’t anything profound, but that was the point.
The simplest things make the most profound difference.
The next week I went to my counseling appointment with mixed emotions. The assignment did work. My perspective was changing, but that meant I had to admit my counselor was right. I’d rather enjoy life than be right, so I swallowed my pride and went in with my list of good things. Mr. Potato head was there with eyes wide open. (He never blinks!) He was going to enjoy watching me admit this assignment worked. I’m pretty sure his smile was more of a smirk. I should’ve taken his ears off.
Did this one little exercise suddenly rid me of extreme depression? No, but it did make each day a little bit better. That’s the key to conquering anything.
One small step at a time is all it takes to make great strides.
James 1:17 says: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. NIV
Looking for good things in each day helped me shift my focus and realize that even in horrible situations, Jesus really was right there with me in every moment.
I still put this into practice many years after that session. As I did it day after day, I began to realize it was making me more aware of God’s presence and love in my life. So, that’s why I call those moments A Jesus Moment. Somedays those moments are a stranger holding the door for me, a cup of coffee, or a nurse at the Emergency Department who gets me the best graham crackers. Sometimes, it’s even in an epinephrine injector that worked and saved my life again. It’s a moment when something good can remind me of God sees me and loves me. What’s my good thing for today? I liked the rainy weather this morning. The sound of rain is soothing to me, and the smell of rain takes me to a happy place of days curled up with a good book and a favorite soft blanket.
So, I’d like to leave you with a challenge this week. If I had to do this, the least I can do is pass it on. At the end of the day, no matter if you feel like you had a great day or a horrible day, write down one good thing that happened. Remember, it can be anything; it doesn’t have to be something huge. Take it from someone who did this grudgingly at first, it works. If you don’t believe me, you can always ask Mr. Potato head.
-Emily Furda
Please leave a comment. I’d love to connect with you. Tell me where you’re finding Jesus today or where you’re struggling to find Him.
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