Pain is inevitable, misery is optional

This quote about pain is found in the book "You gotta keep dancing." It is the story of Tim Hansel and his life following an accident that left him in chronic debilitating pain, for life. I have thought about this quote and have made an observation. Pain is something we all deal with or will deal with. It is impossible to avoid for an entire lifetime. It will find us, no question. The bigger question is what is my response to it. Will it dictate who I am? Will it control my emotions? Will I choose joy in the midst of my pain?
I don't know about you but sometimes I go into a worship service at a church and find myself unable to sing. Others may look around and see me "not participating". They may think I am angry at God or angry at the world. In reality I am trying to focus on the words and the message in the song. I am trying to slow down and let the message of the song be very real.
This past Sunday I stood during the worship service and wept for much of it. The message was wonderful, Jesus is all I need. We sang the song "I Surrender All" and the words say, "All to Jesus I surrender all to him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him in His presence daily live."
I desire to be in that place where I can say I will ever love and trust him on a daily basis. I want to be able to daily trust God so much that joy, not misery, walk with me daily.
We have all met people who are miserable. There joy has been stolen from them or they have given it away. Find someone today who is miserable and share the joy of the Lord with them. I have found when I share joy with others I receive more joy in return. The bible says "the joy of the Lord is our strength." I believe it!!!