Sometimes I think of my life as a grand adventure, with the part I'm living now before I die being only the first chapter. I'm learning from Him how to live, why to live, all about love and worship and serving and a zillion other things, so I'll be ready for eternity when it'll be time to launch into the rest of the story!
Other times I slog through the day, read a little Scripture, pray for the joy to bubble back up through the stress. But I still know I'm only in a little rough spot in the first chapter...and take it one page at a time.