Drop the Fist, Change Your Focus, Experience the JOY!!

Make a fist ✊,now put it right in front of your face ​and focus on your fist so that is all you see. I was part of an audience a few days ago where Sister Ruth Renlund asked us to try this experiment with her. The experiment and the analogy were helpful! She explained that our fist might be the challenge or worry we have in our life at this moment. All we can see is that issue right there in front of us. But if we shift our focus to look up or even to shift our focus to the side, there is so much more we can see. Our focus shifts away from the mounting problem that is blocking our view. In this case Sister Renlund pointed out how focusing on the big problem in front of us takes away our joy, and quite often we can't experience or see anything else. Sharing the quote from President Russell M Nelson, she reminded us "the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." Since then, I have thought about this analogy a lot. Doing so I recalled times when my focus was on the messes my children made, financial concerns, the stacks of dirty or clean laundry that wasn't getting put away, an annoying behavior of a loved one, someone else's bad decision, how I was hurt or offended, the long to-do lists, and more. Spending much of my time and thought energy focusing on the problem right in front of my face robbed me and others of a lot of joy. Instead of joy, there was frustration and anger, resentment, a lack of forgiveness, and many more negative feelings. All things that Satan would have me feel. I fell into his trap a lot and allowed him to steal a lot of my joy. I like the recent picture of President Nelson he posted on social media New Year’s Day. A reminder for me to look up. One of the scriptural phrases I read this past week really caught my attention too, (Moses 7:44) a reminder to "lift up your heart, and be glad; and look." Then Sister Renlund's example to shift the focus away from the fist, the mounting challenge staring me in the face. All of these have been teaching moments for me and a reminder to look up! I can look up and lift my heart to God in an act of trust even during the challenge(s) or all that is happening right in my path or view. To lift up and focus on Jesus Christ, not the world. I am learning that my focus really does matter. As I take quiet moments to connect with God at the beginning of each day, I know the "joy [I] feel has little to do with the circumstances of [my] li​fe​ and everything to do with the focus of [my] [life]." This song also does good to my soul in choosing JOY - "Choose Joy" by Scott Krippayne, part of the 2018 EFY Album.