Just a few weeks ago, the meagre sun could not pull the temp above zero,
yet for a few days now, we have melting going on!
It is hard to believe everything can change so drastically, but isn’t this is a picture of life?
And as winter turns loose its frosty grip, I have this good feeling – it must be pure joy, rising like the temperature. Following kindness and hope then, I’m aiming for joy!
Not that I don’t find plenty to enjoy any old time – darkness, cold, storms, struggles – I still count it all joy.
I am a Heeler, after all. 
Being a Heeler, I know about joy.
I suffer, as do most cowdogs of my kind, from irrepressible Joie de Vive; I don’t speak French much, but I’m told that means “delight in being alive.”
It means we find happiness, jubilation, humor, glee, JOY in everyday moments and in everyday.
Sometimes in this life, it seems as if we are on the slickest sled on an icy slope, picking up speed, fast and out of control! 
It is a merciful thing, I suppose, that people don’t know what the future holds. Might as well just look forward with joy, I say.
It may be hard to look up with anticipation and insist on optimism. 
Just take a lesson from the Heeler, and count it all joy.
Chew on these truths like a good bone:
Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.
Smile – there are a whole lot of problems out there in the world that aren’t yours.
No one is responsible for your happiness except you.
I’m searching, and what do I find?
I find joy when I go out, light a bit earlier now, and smell the fresh air one more morning.
I laugh with joy at the antics of the wild turkeys, staging their spring courting dances in my yard – and I usually even resist the urge to herd them, and let them have their fun.
I find joy in a hundred little things –
the rooster crowing early,
The sun rising a little further north behind the high hills, a different glisten on the melting snow.
A fresh bone, a new treat, even a cat that wants to play with me.
The uplifting music the boss plays – sometimes I sing along!
Boots and paws with more mud than snow and ice. 
Open water on the creek, no need to chop ice anymore.
Birds singing spring songs. Pussy willows threatening to burst open as the first new sign of life.
Oh, I know we will still have a couple of winters before we see green grass and a truly warm sun,
but in it all, and all the storms life throws my way, this little cowdog will find joy!
Even if I have to dig for it. 
This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
