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.
- Pam