The Joy I Found in Forty Chicken Nuggets

Disclaimer: I have always been and always will be a die-hard Mcdonald’s fan. However, desperate times call for desperate measures. 
 
A couple of weeks ago, my brother and I embarked on a journey to retrieve some essential goods from my dorm. It wasn’t under ideal circumstances and we had to get up pretty early, so you could say we weren’t in the best of moods as we headed down to Charlottesville, but it had to be done. We began our journey, knowing exactly how it would end. Or so we thought. 
 
We drove an hour and forty-five minutes, only to spend about fifteen minutes trying to stuff my things into the car. Fortunately,  my brother is very good at Tetris. We couldn’t fathom jumping right back into the long drive, so naturally, we decided to look for food. 
 
My parents are quite the savvy shoppers and they’ve instilled that thrifty nature into their children. As we pondered what to eat, my brother’s photographic coupon memory brought up a Burger King deal selling eight nuggets for $1. You heard, er read, that right. Eight nuggets for one dollar! They basically paid you! There was no way we were passing up this deal. So we set off in search of the nugs. 
 
Using my 2.75 years of Charlottesville knowledge, I remembered there was a Burger King conveniently placed in Barracks shopping center. Our excitement began to build as we neared the big building. It didn’t help that I had made the revelation that we could get forty nugs for $5. We could barely contain our excitement. As we pulled into the parking lot, we noticed that the Burger King seemed emptier than usual and our hearts began to sink. My brother walked up to the door and APPARENTLY IT'S BEEN CLOSED FOR WEEKS! That shows how often I go to Burger King. So we quickly turned to the miracle of technology that is Google maps and found one about five minutes away. We hopped onto 29 and were one step closer to attaining our precious nugs. 
 
It’s difficult to describe the emotions I felt as we pulled into the Burger King parking lot. We decided that my brother was the worthy one that would go and order, mostly because I didn’t want to pay. Suddenly, the whole trip was worth it, thanks to a brown paper bag holding forty chicken nuggets. 
 
Jesus calls us to be joyful. 1 Thessalonians tells us to rejoice always and in all circumstances give thanks. Don’t get me wrong, this is not an easy feat. Part of this is because we often equate being joyful to being happy all the time, or that joy is just a more intense form of the emotion happiness. However, joy isn’t just an emotion. Joy is a gift that we receive through Christian living. It isn’t as conditional as general happiness. This is why one can find joy in suffering and tribulations. When one is living a life centered around Christ, one has hope during times of suffering, and therefore, joy. 
 
Joy often doesn’t come naturally to us, especially in times of trials and suffering. Just like I had to go out and find my chicken nuggets, we often have to actively find the joy in our lives. We have to train ourselves to look beyond our current circumstances and see the gift of living in communion with Jesus. Thankfully, we have the support and guidance of the Holy Spirit, because we cannot find, or even attain, joy without Him. My brother and I recognized the joy our chicken nugget adventure brought us. In the midst of fatigue and dreariness, we were able to spend some quality time together that I am sure we will both look back at very fondly. We recognized that this good thing, like all good things, came from the Lord, even if this good thing was a bag of 40 chicken nuggets accompanied by many laughs.

I want to challenge you to grow in joy. How? Make a Joyful Jar! Every day, write down at least one thing or moment in the day that brought you joy and drop it in the jar! At the end of the month (or week) open the jar and read all the amazing gifts God has placed in your life. Soon, you’ll find yourself looking for moments of joy in your day to drop in your jar. As you all know, this week is Holy Week, culminating in the most joyful day of the year, so there is no better time to start looking for joy than now! Also, don’t be afraid to look for joy in the small things. Chicken nuggets are small and they brought me a lot of joy. 
 
Lastly, remember that trials and tribulations shall pass. Probably not as fast as we devoured the forty chicken nuggets, but they shall pass. How blessed are we to be able to receive a joy that is everlasting in Jesus Christ.