There is a French story called “The Magic Thread” that teaches how to find joy in the present.
Once an old woman gave a young boy named Peter a silver ball. She tells him that inside the silver ball is a thin golden thread and explains, “This thread is your life thread. If you don’t touch the thread, your life will pass normally. But if you wish to have time pass more quickly, all you have to do is pull on the thread a little and an hour will pass by like a minute.
“However,” the woman warns him, “Use the thread carefully, for once the thread is pulled out, it can never be pushed back again.”
At first Peter is just happy to have this precious gift and is a little afraid to use it. But one day he is bored with arithmetic class and gives the thread a tiny pull. Suddenly the school day is over and he is walking the forest path back to his home. After this experience, Peter uses the gift of the magic thread whenever life seems boring and a little difficult.
As Peter grows he continues to pull on that magic thread. He pulls it to hasten his marriage, hurry along payday, help his children become self-sufficient sooner. He uses the unique gift whenever he is impatient or tested.
Suddenly he awakes to find that he is an old man, living all alone.
He searches for the old woman to return the silver ball and asks for a second chance to live his life without it. For he says, ” Your magic ball is a wonderful gift. I have never had to suffer or wait for anything. But life has passed too quickly. I feel that I have had no time to take in what has happened to me, neither the good nor the bad.”
Don’t Wait for Joy
I imagine that all of us, at one time or another, have wished that life would move along a little faster. We are sure that we will be happy when we have just one more thing. When we’re young, we know we will be happy when we’re finished with school. When we’re single, we’re sure marriage will fulfill all our needs. We may be certain that having children will satisfy all our deepest desires. Then when we have kids, we’re sure we’ll be happy once they’re moved out of the house.
Like Peter in the story, we tend to make our happiness contingent on one more thing, only to find that we could have had joy all along if we had only taken the time to fully engage in life.
I love Psalm 4 because David starts out wishing, like the boy Peter, that all his troubles would be gone:
Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent.
Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.Psalm 4:1
But he ends with the realization that God has already given him joy–greater joy than those who are experiencing great success and prosperity:
You have given me greater joy
than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.Psalm 4:7
We don’t have to wait for everything to be perfect to have joy. God will give it us joy right now–even before He gives us relief from our problems.
Don’t wait for joy. Instead of asking for a magic thread, ask God for joy. Instead of wishing for time to pass more quickly, enjoy life now as a gift.
In the center of your troubles, in the middle of your waiting, in the midst of the everyday–God promises joy in Christ.
Next step: Are you having trouble finding joy in the present because you continually look to the future? Are you waiting for everything to be perfect before you enjoy your life? Bring all your troubles to God and then ask Him to help you find joy right where you are.
And if you want more inspiration for finding joy, check out The Secret to Finding More Joy.