How many times have you thought that the answer to your problems, the remedy for your health issues, or the key to your happiness depends on someone or something outside of yourself?

Martha Washington, the first First Lady, remarked, “I have learned from experience that most of our happiness or misery is determined by our dispositions rather than our circumstances. We carry the seeds of these feelings within our minds, no matter where we go.” 

Consider for a moment how drastically our lives could change if we knew we had the seeds of happiness within us, waiting to blossom whenever we allow them to. Mother Teresa exemplified this idea. In her book, A Gift to God, she shared seven seeds for being joyful with the Lord.

1. Loving as He loves.
2. Helping as He helps.
3. Giving as He gives.
4. Serving as He serves.
5. Rescuing as He rescues.
6. Being with Him for all twenty-four hours.
7. Touching Him in His distressing disguise.

I believe her last seed was that God’s disguise was in the little orphans she helped throughout her life. We have nine seeds to offer, which I am confident will bring the joy we all seek. These nine seeds require just one action from us: SURRENDER!

Galatians 5:22-23–22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Here’s to a surrendered life,

Gene