I recently bought a bracelet that reads “live in joy.” I was drawn to it. “Choose Joy” has been stamped on many pieces of jewelry over the years. I can easily wrap my head around the concept of choosing joy, but for some reason “live in joy” was harder.

One day, when I was being still with God (I was actually at the beach on what I like to call “my date with God.” It’s something I put in my planner each week as I set aside time to head to the beach, where I feel especially close to our Creator), it got me thinking about those three words—live in joy. I was sitting on a bench next to some jasmine bushes and this hummingbird came up and started jumping from one flower to the next, looking for some nectar, I presume. It was moving quite frantically from one to the next, like almost haphazardly, giving the impression he wasn’t finding what he was looking for. It got me thinking about my own life and how I, too, jump from one thing to the next—oftentimes just as haphazardly as that hummingbird. Sure I’m joyful along the way, but am I really living in the joy, like really really living in the joy? Or is there more taken for granted than lived in joy? So much frantic living, and for what?

At the end of the day, that frantic way of living is not what gives real joy. Authentic joy, the kind that gives you the peace that surpasses all understanding, is only found in the one true King. That day, I made a promise to myself that when I find myself feeling like that hummingbird, I was going to stop and take a moment with God, and recognize the joy in Him.

Where are you looking for joy? Are you always looking for something sweeter, like that Hummingbird in search of the “perfect” nectar, when really that “something sweeter”—your Heavenly Father—is always with you?

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” LUKE 10:41-42 NIV