You’re a Christian. That means you should be happy and loving life all the time, doesn’t it? Well , that’s the theory, but sometimes we can hit a bump in the road and at that it can be hard to find our joy.

It’s a situation Heather Sanford appreciates – she’s been there herself: as a missionary in Nicaragua, as a church pioneer in Galway, Ireland, as a mother of four children, and as a wife.

Life is full of bumps and we never really know what it’s going to throw at us but whatever the circumstances, what we long for remains the same – true happiness.

Now Heather, who hails from Texas, hopes others will discover the same peace, hope and love for life that she has by remembering some simple truths.

“Joy everyone wants it,” she writes in her new book, “How To Love Your Life”.

“People spend a lot of money trying to create it in their lives. However, real joy cannot be bought and real joy is not dictated by circumstances!

“So what can we do when we have less than perfect moments? What do we do with sad moments or trials? The Bible says to count it all joy!”

Heather starts with a big one, what she identifies as the “number-one killer of successful, godly lives”: dissatisfaction.

To tackle it we need to get to the bottom of where it comes from – in her view, our often unrealistic expectations and fantasies about the “perfect life”.

Forget the dream of a “perfect” wedding, the “perfect” marriage, the “perfect” family, because in her experience nothing comes in that kind of package – but that’s ok!

“Dissatisfaction may seem harmless, or even appropriate, but it is the number-one killer of successful, godly lives,” she says.

“You can still have dreams for tomorrow, but you do not have to wait for tomorrow to be happy and fulfilled.

“So often when we set our hearts on certain things happening we are not truly happy until they come to fruition, and we miss out on today!

“We spend our lives waiting for each new change, living our lives with the ever-evasive fantasy of the future instead of living our lives for today and what God has for us today.

“There is so much incredible potential in each day.”

Sometimes finding peace has to do with misunderstandings about salvation or “being at odds with God”. In that kind of situation, it will be hard to find peace until we “settle salvation” and accept what Jesus did for us, she writes.

Some things we’ve just got to accept: “God is not the enemy”; “Every good thing in your life comes from God”; “God will never tempt you or test you with evil”; “God will show you how to escape temptations.”

At other times we just need to accept that the journey can be tough and that we need God’s help to get through it.

Taking breaks are great, but what’s most important is to recharge ourselves through spiritual rest.

“There is no true physical rest without spiritual rest. People often think, ‘If I could just get away for a few days, I could be at rest.’ But really they go away for a few days and often come back as tired as when they left.

“They could get the rest they need right where they are in their hectic schedule if they could find that place of peace.

“If we will begin to look to the Lord in our storms instead of panicking over our situations, He will show us how to safely get through them or instantly calm them.”

How do we do that? By reading our Bible, meditating on his promises rather than the problems, and continuing to praise and worship him, she suggests.

The end result may not be the “perfect” life we always dreamed of, but it will be a place of being able to thank God for the road we’ve travelled so far and an ability to embrace the road ahead with a joyful heart.

Says Heather: “Remember that life is never so perfect for anyone that it is easy to be satisfied. You have to choose to love your life because there are always reasons not to.”