Day 7

"Happy is the person who not only sings, but feels God's eye is on the sparrow, and knows He watches over me. To be simply ensconced in God is true joy. How small a portion of our life it is that we really enjoy! In youth we are looking forward to things that are to come; in old age we are looking backward to things that are gone past; in manhood, although we appear indeed to be more occupied in things that are present, yet even that is too often absorbed in vague determinations to be vastly happy on some future day when we have time."

C. C. Colton

I love quotes. To paraphrase from another quote that I don't really quite remember, "a quote articulates what we are thinking much better than we could ourselves." But that's okay, because to quote the words of Ambrose Bierc, "Quoting: the act of repeating erroneously the words of another."

Okay, okay, I've had my fun. Now to get serious. I really like the quote I put at the beginning because it describes the way a lot of us live, but at the same time we don't really realize that we are doing it. I would propose that people live this way because they have a slight fear of really enjoying life and being content. Why? Because we fear that if we are content with where we are at, then our situation isn't going to change. This is true, is it not? We think this way for some reason. We hold off enjoying life fully until we reach that next step, except joy never comes because there is always another step to get to first. Enjoy today! Yes, hope for things in life. Yes, look forward to a brighter tomorrow. But don't glamorize the future so much that present tarnishes. Be joyful today, and if tomorrow is better, then be joyful some more.

Another reason we aren't joyful is because we don't feel like we deserve it. This can be caused by guilt of our own actions and mistakes, or because we know people who are suffering, and it doesn't seem fair for us to be happy if they are not. Both of these reasons rob people of joy, but these thoughts have to be fought against and destroyed if you want to feel true joy. If you are Christian, there is nothing that you have done that Christ didn't pay the price for on Calvary. When you feel guilty about sin, confess it, and then let it go. To continue to beat yourself up over past sin cheapens Christ's sacrifice and ultimately rejects God grace. Christ saved us because we were sinners in need of a Savior, not because we were perfect and fun to be around.

The other reason we feel guilty is because of others' suffering. I struggle with this one. I look around and I see friends who are sick, who need jobs, who need families, who are hurting, who have lost loved ones, and I tell myself that I don't deserve to be happy when there is so much suffering in this world. Here is another quote I like that touches on this subject:

"We rejoice in spite of our grief, not in place of it. " Woodrow Kroll

Joy does not replace suffering, but it does ease it. Happiness is determined by our circumstances, but joy goes so much deeper. Living in joy is choice, and we can choose it even in the hardest times. Joy in life doesn't cheapen what someone else is going through, and many times a joyful person is a refreshing balm to a weary soul. And, as Virgil said, "Perhaps the day may come when we shall remember these sufferings with joy."

May you be filled with joy, my friends.