Quiz: Are You Good at Choosing Joy?

1) Another driver cuts in front of you so suddenly you hit the brakes to avoid a collision. 

  A: You slam the horn even harder and grumble about idiots on the road.

  B: You tailgate for several miles so the driver will feel your breath (or at least your car’s) down the back of his/her neck.

  C: You thank God and your Guardian Angel for keeping everyone safe.  Then put it out of mind as you turn up some Christian rock to sing along.

2) Your child wants to help peel potatoes and misses the trash can with nearly half the peels, sometimes by several feet.

  A: You yell at her for the mess and insist on peeling the rest yourself.

  B: You issue snarky reminders of the mess every time she wants to do anything with you the rest of the week.

  C: You challenge her to see the shape of something Biblical in the mess - and tell her it looks like a lion’s den to you - before you have her clean it up.

3) A baby starts crying behind you at Mass.

  A: You are relieved it isn’t your child causing the disturbance.  This time.

  B: You glare at the parents for not getting him out of there sooner.  How did they not know he was going to cry?  That’s what babies do.

  C: You recognize the beauty of new life even in the noise.  It also gives you an excuse to reread the Gospel since you were distracted during part of it.  More time with the Word of God is good.

4) It is raining for the sixth consecutive day.

  A: You grouse that it will make the grass grow while simultaneously making it too wet to mow.

  B: You scroll the internet for pictures of things you could be doing if it was sunny, which makes you more depressed.

  C: You appreciate the way rain makes some things shiny or reflective.  You actively search for pretty sights that stand out in the gloom.

5) You are working on a cross stitch (or other hobby project) and realize you have made a mistake.

  A: Your jaw is clenched so tightly it hurts the entire time you back up to correct the mistake.

  B: You throw the whole thing across the room as you give up on the project.

  C: You give yourself a mental kick and then keep going.  It’s fun to think you’ll know where the imperfection is even when others can’t find it.

6) You finish a short quiz on choosing joy.

  A: You didn’t finish the quiz.  You don’t have time to choose joy.

  B: You roll your eyes that all the answers were clearly B.  It was boring.

  C: You feel good about the fact that you could have come up with better answers for at least two of the questions.