Have Fun Today

This is the day the Lord has made.  

Let us rejoice and be glad in it 

(Psalm 118:24

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“Have fun today,” my husband said as we ended our phone conversation.  “I will,” I responded automatically, not registering what he had said until I turned to hang up the phone.  “Have fun today?” I mused aloud.  The very idea of having fun on a day when my lengthy “to do list” consisted mostly of routine activities, seemed somewhat incongruous.  “Be careful” or “Don’t forget to…” or even “Don’t spend too much money” would have been more in keeping with the day I had planned.  “Have fun?” I mumbled again as I scanned the lengthy list:

1. Call the insurance company for the third time about claims they had processed incorrectly.
2.  Call the hospital and two doctors’ offices about the outcome of #1.
3.  Return a call to a friend who was discouraged and had lots of questions after being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue.
4. Go to water therapy.
5. Return home and work on 3 months’ worth of paperwork. 
6.  Take an elderly friend to the beauty shop for a perm.
7.  Go to the grocery store.
8.  Return home and start supper.
9.  Go back to the beauty shop, pick up my friend and take her home.
10. Return home and finish supper.
11. Eat, clean the kitchen.
12. Check and answer e-mails.
13. Spend time with Bob.
14. Get to bed at a sensible hour.

Not a bad day, I assured myself, but not one I would exactly term fun. Then I remembered a little sign sent by a friend several years before which I had taped to the computer monitor:
“MAKE THE CHOICE TO REJOICE” it read in bright, colorful letters.  It was a reminder that while we cannot always choose the circumstances of our days, the way we choose to view them determines how we feel and react to them.  Solomon, in his God-given wisdom, put it this way:

As a person thinks in his heart, so is he 

(Proverbs 23:7)

The oft-quoted quip --“It’s mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter”—is more than just a catchy phrase.  With conscious effort and faith in God’s overall wisdom, kindness and strength, this idea can become a way of life, or at least a goal toward which we can aim.

Impressed by such thoughts, I determined that I was going to make it a fun day.  That no matter what delays or discouragements I encountered, I wasn’t going to let things get me down.  I would approach each item on the list, and anything else God might choose to add, in a spirit of fun and adventure.

At the end of the day, I was physically drained but the tiredness did not contain the frustration that often accompanies a busy day.  In fact, I found that I had enjoyed every aspect of it, including the phone calls about the insurance mix-ups.  Though it had taken three different calls and four different employees, each person with whom I spoke had been pleasant and helpful, and progress was made toward clearing up the problem.

The last woman with which I spoke even ended our conversation with “Have a nice day and please feel free to call again anytime I can help you.”  Wow!  How often do we hear that from a person to whose attention we have pointed out a mistake?

That evening, when I told Bob how helpful his “Have fun today” had been, he couldn’t even recall having said it.  He said it must have come out automatically.  Therein I realized another valuable lesson:  the things we say to others, though they may seem inconsequential to us, can make a difference in how their day goes.

While it may not always be appropriate to wish someone a fun day, it is always fitting to encourage them.  God has made and kept many wonderful promises to assist us and keep us from becoming harried and exhausted, cross and testy. 

Though life can get busy and heavy, and there is seldom enough time to meet every demand placed upon us, God’s plan is for His children to enjoy the life into which He has placed us.  He has instilled in each of us the gifts of joy and laughter and is readily available to help us utilize them if we can remember each day to have fun.

Have a fun day, Lord? A day when my heart is light?
A day to celebrate with joy as if everything were right?
That’s surely not what You intend, or ask of me right now,
for with the burdens in my heart I really don’t see how.
Why would You even think I could in this hurting time?
No, Lord, that doesn’t make much sense, no reason and no rhyme.
What’s that I hear above my cries?  What are You telling me
with kindest love, in gentlest tones? You died to set me free?
Not only did You cleanse my sins and make them white as snow,
You promised always to be there with every step I go.
You said You’d take these burdens that are weighing down my heart,
and replace them with the peace and joy that You alone impart.
"Come walk with Me today," You say? You’ll carry all my load,
so I can smile right through my tears, even on a rocky road?
I remember in the past Your promises held true;
so I can smile, have fun today, and draw my help from You.