Article November 6, 2000 Issue

CAN I DO THIS WITH JOY?

Jewel Becker Simmons

You're late coming home from work. Public transportation was hard. You're eating your third meal of the day standing up. In five minutes a meeting starts that you're supposed to attend. You call to say you'll be late, slam down part of your dinner, and dash out the door, barely having greeted your spouse or kids. Tomorrow doesn't look any more relaxing, and the weekend is loading up.

When there are so many demands on your time, how do you proceed? How do you set priorities or know when to accept or decline new responsibilities?

I often ask myself this question: can I do this joy? It can turn around feelings of being overloaded in a matter of moments. Envisioning where you're due next, you can love those who'll be there. You may ask God how you can bring joy to the meeting, or game, or wherever it is you're going, and then head there happily.

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