A Moment Aside --- 9 November 2021
Joy and happiness are not the same thing. An ice cream cone might make us happy. Finding a quarter on the sidewalk might make us happy. What brings us joy is something else. We might find our joy in family, in our children, in our work, in the world around us. Joy is more lasting and deeper than happiness and joy can shine through even on those days where happiness is lacking.
Often joy is a choice or
even a passion, while happiness is a condition that might be temporary. No one I
know is happy all the time. Illness, injury, loss, even weather have a hand in
“un-happiness.” Despite all of these things, joy can remain and can be sought
and chosen.
Say we lose a loved one in
death and are sad, that is to say “unhappy.” Joy can still be present even in
the background, in the memory of what that beloved person brought to our life.
We may be saddened by our loss, yet retain a sort of joy in the fact that that
person was part of our life.
We can choose to know joy
and uncover it wherever we might go. We can choose the opposite of joy –
something far more than sadness – and live a shaded, beclouded life.
Which do you think God
would have us choose? Remember, Christ rose from the dead. And in Revelation,
the He who sat on the throne said “See, I
make all things new!” (Rev. 21:5)
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