Heather's Journal #72. "Finding joy even when your world falls apart." No Date 2008.

72

“Finding joy even when your world falls apart.”

No Date

Todays one-a-them Sundays where everything’s just right.  The weather feels amazing, church was good, everyone seems to be momentarily happy.  Today’s one of those days where you feel like you have all the time in the world, even though tomorrow’s Monday & work seems to catch up with you.  I just love Sundays like this.

What is true joy?  Is it something everyone is entitled to?  Or something you’re just given to by luck?  I think joy is based on choice and what’s goin on with you eternally.  I wanna seek the pursuit of joy.  I wanna learn not to care what “bad things” go on in my life but focus on what really matters.  I wanna find joy in every

single situation.  Ultimate joy, that’s what I wanna have even when my world still continues to fall apart… just a thought….

I will strive to be better.

In Christ,

Heather Marie Lee

Dear Heather,

This is the kind of conversation I was having with myself about happiness.  Now you have me thinking, “What is the difference between happiness and joy?”  Wow!  That’s an interesting thought. 

When I first hear the word joy I immediately think of joy as a choice.  Lots of people could have identical experiences, yet not all would be joyful.

Then my mind trails off to my favorite verse, “Consider it pure joy my friends when you face trials of any kind, for the testing of your faith develops perseversence and perseverance must finish it’s work so that you will be full and complete, lacking nothing.” 

Just the words… “consider it pure joy”… make me think that joy is a choice of the mind.  He didn’t say “feel” joy.  He said, “consider” it joy.  Feeling follows fact.  Or feeling follows faith.  Either way, we make a choice to react a certain way and most often, the correct feeling will follow. 

What is odd is that God is telling us to look at all of our circumstances – even the trials – with joy.  I think God is telling us that when we face trials of any kind we should recognize that He has some purpose. 

I also love the words “perseverance must finish its work.”  I don’t know why those words are so powerful to me.  But the idea that perseverance – or our willingness to endure the hard stuff – is a means to an end – gives me purpose.  This verse tells me that I will lack nothing following my willingness to persevere.  But what strikes me is that perseverance is actually doing the work – not me.

That sounds pretty amazing.  God will use all circumstances for our good in some way.  And that is reason to be joyful.

So, if joy is a choice, I think that you are right to choose it.  I think we will have to nudge and push and remind each other that we know our response should be joy. 

Can you imagine how much easier it would be to endure things that seem bad if we were joyful because we could see what God saw – beyond the moment – to the bigger picture of our life? 

I choose joy.  And you have my permission to remind me.  :-)

I love you.

Mom