I recently saw a question on a blog that asked the question, “What brings you joy?” Now I first had to consider the many definitions of the word, “joy.” Most defined it as an intense type of happiness. I thought about that and considered that meaning and realized that you could be void of happiness and still have joy. I know this personally because the last 7 or so years my life have been mostly downward swirls of anything but happiness. Happiness is kind of a shallow type of emotion that easily comes and goes like the wind. I think many people just use joy and happiness interchangeably. So if joy really is different than merely an intense form of happiness, then what is it? I then reflected on various other definitions I had remembered about joy as well as read from Biblical verses concerning joy. They all focused on joy being something that could not be forced on yourself or manufactured. It is not an act of your will or something that can be forced upon you. Instead it is a spontaneous state of warmth that comes from your heart. It is not a weak and flimsy emotion but one that is strong and firm withstanding all circumstance and state of mind and being. The Bible itself states that joy can exist in the middle of great pain and trouble.

Now that I considered what joy was I then looked at my life to see what was within it and at myself to see what brought me joy. First of all and most important is my relationship with God. Throughout anything I know that He is always there and will never leave me. Even when all others desert me and things are not the way I wish them to be, I know that this is something that is solid and true and that withstands all else around me and even that which comes within me. I also am blessed to have a family that even through times when nothing seems to be right and our relationships falter, we are all still there and together. I am also filled with joy because my children, though we have little to offer them and we don’t buy them love like I see so many parents do with their kids, they just are glad that we are together. I guess that brings me back to the question of what brings me joy. It cannot not be things that can easily come and go and that we can merely toss aside moment to moment. Joy comes through the true relationships we have in life. The one that connects us to God as well as the ones within our family. Yes there are times when those relationships seem to disappoint and have ups and downs but the core existence of it is still there and that is where true joy comes from.

“This post is part of SOYJOY‘s What brings you joy contest. Learn more here.”

Filed under: Home, Miscellaneous by Barbara
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