Happiness = No Complaining

This is lake Valiug. It flows between some mountains, a mere 30 minutes drive above Restia, Romania. This is a place of peace and fun! We have been to this lake many times and we have done different things each time that we visited; swimming, bike riding, hiking, dining, cook outs, snow ball fights, and so much more are enjoyed here during different parts of the year.

Today we swam and it was great! We swam from one side to the other, and then back, which was a thirty minute round trip for us. The weather outside was beautiful, the sun was shinning, and the only sound (besides us) was from the water being blown by the wind.

I had time to really disconnect and think while we were in the water. I toyed with memories from my basic training days, remembering how I complained often to my dad about obstacles which were hard for me. His answer always was the same. He always said “Learn to enjoy these moments because one day they will pass and you will miss them!” With that advice, I couldn’t help but to try and extract joy from even the worst of days back then.

To this day, I still try to extract joys, even on the days that it is hard to “see the light.” Most of all, I try to do this without complaining when things aren’t going the way that I think they should. God’s word mentions this happiness strategy in the following verse:

Philippians 2:14-16 KJV

¹⁴ Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

¹⁵ That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

¹⁶ Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

Imagine if I were to complain to others, or just to myself internally, about my swim today. I could have complained about the water being to cold, about being too tired to swim, about there being dirt and rocks there to walk on in the entrance, or even about a fear of mine… perhaps about potentially being bitten by a snake. In the past, I would have let these kind of excuses / complaints either cloud the beauty of my adventure, or even worse, I would have not swam at all. I am glad that with God’s help I have grown in this area of my life. I am happy that I have finally learned how to do things that bring me joy without complaining.

I hope that you are able to do the things that bring you joy without complaining. Isn’t it so rewarding? Thank-you for reading this post, I hope that you found it useful. I look forward to hearing from you!

Christy 🙂

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