For example, I lost my father when I was three. Without a father figure in your life, success in any venture is difficult. When you make a commitment to joy you are, in effect, saying, "There is so much in my life I can't control. Yet this is the life God has planned for me, and I am going to be joyful."
Being joyful isn't always easy. In fact, it can be one of the greatest challenges of your life. True maturity is about taking the challenge -- the loss of a father or a spouse -- and choosing to concentrate on what you have rather what you lack.
Most of us think by resolving this or that problem we will find peace and contentment. But those conditions are rarely met. The fact is, regardless of how good or how bad your family life may have been, you will still have to make the commitment. It was in Kailua that I decided to make a start on that.
Coming up in Part 4: "Being present."