Unfortunately, we had school today.

You might think “Duh, it’s Friday! Of course you have school.”

Well, we just had 3 glorious unexpected Snow Days in a row, and the kids were hoping for a 4th.  I can’t disagree, it was below 0 degrees when I left my house this morning.

They came sludging into the room.  They were upset that they had to come to school.  Those that actually came to school.  Heads down, tired eyes, and grunts of acknowledgement.

In a moment like this, I can choose, I can be grumpy right along with them, or I can be cheerful and make their day a little better. These kids I see at 7:10 in the morning for about 15 minutes are always cheerful and excited to be at school. (For the most part, they all have their days!)

AND….let me be honest…. they have done just the same for me the last 6 months.  I have been nothing but a grump in the mornings (or at least my coffee kicks in! I often leave my door shut until the last minute because I don’t want anyone to say “Good Morning” to me.)

For instance: 
*One female student that compliments my outfit almost on a daily basis!
*I have one that smiles and giggles that lights up the room.  She shared the other day that she was really concerned about Justin Bieber.
*One young man, can’t sit in a chair!( At all, never, not even once will he sit down for more than 5 seconds) Which frustrates me, but also makes me laugh.
*One girl, is obsessed with selfies and writing “I am the BOSS of the room!” on my white board.
“What time is it, SELFIE time!” is often heard coming out of her mouth!

With all this in mind, I remembered something today easily forgotten in the midst of stress and chaos of being a young professional/grad student.

Sometimes that choice may not be easy, but it is still there.  It still belongs to me.  It is often so hard when I am reeling from hard things emotionally.  I am just angry at God.  Or I want to cry and weep for no reason at all. 

I also forget that life can be pretty amazing when you choose joy and not sadness. 

In what ways do you need to choose JOY? How can we encourage each other to do that?