I entitled this Ode to Hunter because our soon to be 19 year old son, Hunter, when asked what he wants to be when he grows up, responds, “I just want to be happy.”

 

I just want to be happy.  It’s what I really want to be.  I think it’s a fair request, so do listen to my poem and see if you agree.

You see the world’s definition of happiness is not what I’m really after.  So let’s see if we can get this right because our days keep going by faster, faster and faster.

More, more, more the world claims, that’s where happiness is found.  And yet that little whisper tells you different.  You know the one that talks to you when your knees are on the ground.

So what to do, do we give up the money, the trips, the house, the fame?  They can all be so distracting.  No, God gives us those things to enjoy all the while they are lasting.

But that’s not the happiness I see, I want the eternal kind, you know the one that’s in the book.  So what exactly does the bible say?  Let’s take another look.

It tells us to be happy and to feel God’s love, we must stay here and now, living in the present.  No more fear, no more guilt, no more worry, after all that’s no why He was sent.

Of course there will be hard times, trials and tribulations as Paul calls them.  But today is the day the Lord has made, a fresh start, a do-over, so we thank Him.

So we learn as our days march by the TRUE happiness is never fleeting.  It’s a joy that fills your heart, stays with you all your days on earth, until that anticipated meeting.

You know the one where you’ll meet your maker and He’ll ask you some very simple questions.  Oh how we wish we had that list in advance so life didn’t have to teach us such hard lessons.

He’ll say, did you love yourself, love your neighbor and take care of your human frame?  Black, white, left, right, sister, brother, did you love them all the same?

Did you pause at His beautiful sunset, give glory to Hosanna in the highest up above?  Did you spend daily time in his word, share your gifts with others and show and tell about His Love?

Well if you did all these things my friends I can promise you this much,  You’ll be happy, you’ll be really, truly happy, because you’ll be in peace and feel his love and his everlasting touch.

Dr. Denise Chranowski

July 16, 2017