Are You A Happy Person?

By Pat

Are you a happy person? I am, or at least, I think I am. Usually in a fairly good mood, rarely depressed, and quite content with my life in general.

But not long ago, I began thinking about the word "happy." What makes a person happy? Many things can bring the feeling of happiness. I feel happy when I am busy and productive, when I awaken knowing I had a decent night's sleep, when I know my favorite show is on the television that night. I am happy when I cook a good meal, try a new recipe that is a success. My first cup of coffee in the morning makes me very happy, as does a hot bubble bath and a good book. New clothes make me happy, and losing a few pounds makes me happy. Comfortable shoes, too.

Happiness, for me, is quite easy to attain, but fleeting. Shoes get old, weight fluctuates, books get finished, baths grow cold and clothes don't last forever. But there is another word, another feeling that's so much better and so much harder to describe, and so very different. That word, that feeling, is "joy."

I looked both words up in the dictionary to discover very similar meanings, but I have to say I disagree. To me, they are completely different feelings, brought on by completely different things. For example, when I walk my dogs, I stroll through a beautiful neighborhood with friendly people who are familiar with me, and they wave and greet me in passing. That makes me feel happy. But as I walk, when I hear the birds singing, or watch rabbits chasing each other in play, or feel the warm sunshine on my face, that's JOY.

That's a feeling that comes from the heart, and you cant buy a feeling like that. To hear the laughter of a baby, see it's little face light up when you enter the room, is JOY. To sit on my deck and watch a bird splashing in the birdbath, oblivious to the fact that he has a captive audience, is JOY. Or in the spring, when I see the first crocuses blooming, the daffodils and tulips announcing the end of winter... that feeling could only be described as JOY. In short, anything that makes my heart feel like it's swelling up is joy.

Now, did you notice anything interesting in these examples? As I analyzed this difference between happiness and joy, a very obvious fact emerged, and it's this... only God can give joy. We cannot buy it, and nothing can duplicate the feeling. The song of the birds, the beauty of the flowers, the amusing and entertaining antics of nature, the laughter of loved ones and the love shining in the eyes of loved ones, is something only God can create. It is the most wonderful feeling of all.

You can have a beautiful home, clean and shiny and filled with lovely things, but when you stand alone inside it, I would be it's not joy you're feeling. It's contentedness, maybe pride, and happiness. But joy is derived from the laughter that rings through it and the love that grows in it, or the pets that greet you when you enter it. Things that only God can provide. You can bake the most beautiful, elaborate, delicious cake in the world, and be happy when you've finished, but it's the sharing of it with loved ones that makes your heart happy and brings you joy. That's from God. You can buy a car with every kind of bell and whistle known to man that rides as smooth as velvet, but the feeling of warm air rushing through the windows, and the sharing of the ride with loved ones is the joy.

That's from God. Money cannot buy joy. You cannot create joy. Joy is something that can only come from the heart, and hearts are God's specialty.

So don't strive to be happy. Or contented. Or any of the other things we humans so diligently seek. Strive for joy. Strive to be filled with joy, and to spread that joy to everyone in your path. Smile at a stranger. It might make their heart swell and bring them joy that they in turn will spread! Fill your house, share your food, marvel at nature. Give big hugs. Laugh loudly and often. Allow the things of God to permeate your very soul, and you will soon see how inconsequential and temporary material things are in the grand scheme of life. Joy is something that never becomes outgrown or old, never needs to be replaced when it's gone, because as long as you seek God, you will have the ability to own joy. You'll realize the truth in what God had been telling us all along... only He can bring JOY!

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.