Joy
I don’t know how I missed this lesson but this morning I was talking with Sherlyn and she and I realized something key in regards to Joy. It seems so simple now and I don’t know how it got so convoluted in my mind but here it is. Joy comes from God. Simple, I know but I was trying to find it in reading my scriptures, raising children, having a husband, serving in my callings in the church and doing everything right, often obsessively. Why, when I was doing so many good things could I not feel Joy?
Coming Unto Him is the only way to find Joy. The world can’t give us Joy. Accolades of the world can’t give us Joy. Nice homes and nice cars can’t give us Joy. Work can’t give us Joy. Our children, our husbands, our friends…none of them can give us Joy. We might feel Joy as we serve them but where does that Joy come from? Not from them, from Him! Not even obeying all the commandments and doing everything right can give us Joy. Only He can give us Joy. Now don’t get me wrong, we still need to do what is right but then we need to Come Unto Him to get the Joy.
Do you see where I went wrong? It now seems so simple. I was so close but still not finding Joy. I have to Come Unto Him by doing as many right things as possible, repenting of the things I do wrong THEN through prayer and giving my heart over to Him ASK for the Joy that I am searching for. I know He will give it freely, if we ask. In fact, I am going to work on asking for and accepting the Joy He wanted to give me when I didn’t ask. I hope that I have heaps of Joy stacked up somewhere and I can just bask in it for awhile to balance out all the tough times I’ve had when I could have had Joy but didn’t think to ask. If you see me with a grin the size of the Mississippi for the next while, know that I finally got it!
I challenge you to seek after this real Joy as well. Maybe we can even feel joy in the November challenge to let go of one thing of less value and incorporate one thing of greater value? What a concept. Tell us how it goes.
great topic christy-in my mind i know that the "fullness of joy" wil be in the next life. however we must find some joy here on earth as well. yes it is in our savior, and although we can get some joy from those loved ones on earth, the majority of it and the best of it comes from our savior. i have defined it in my own life, and the actual realm of joy covers so much ground. its like a huge tree with branches, each action or thought that brings us joy is one of those branches, then each branch that travels off of any given branch, is more and more that brings us joy. however, with what i have learned is that my joy comes from my actions. i feel we are in charge of bringing it about or not. i dont feel that we are given freely of joy, joy is a blessing that comes from what we do with our lives. keeping in mind that unresolved pain or regrets can interfere with that free flow of joy no matter what we do. that was very much a part of my past, i could not move forward in sin, and in pain. pain is of the adversary. so,my first joy comes from my family, and the efforts i put into keeping those relationships safe and close. the second comes from my service, i truly have the deepest testimony of giving to others. those branches i commented on go on forever with the benefits of serving others. love one another-but he didnt say just that, he said love one another as yourself. how can we truly love others if we dont love ourself. see where this is going? so, the first things those that are depressed or sad need to do is serve others, as it takes us out of ourselves. in AA i learned that first and foremost. it keeps us grounded and makes us feel better about ourselves, therefore we learn to love ourselves by helping others and then we have joy. in helping others others feel better and also feel they want to do the same for those they see in need. and so the trickle down effect goes. that is where it started for me, service in AA. that is how i got my self esteem back and where it took me where i am now and where i still need to go. for me, that is joy.
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