Ch. 772 - The List: Joys

I suppose I'll begin with the obvious: Jesus is my joy. You know, a friend of mine often posts that statement for her Facebook status. She'll go all out, adding hearts and exclamation points, usually capitalizing all the letters. Nice. Yet as great as that seems, the cynic in me can't help but come out and I usually find myself wondering, 'Really? Is Jesus truly your joy? Does that statement even have any meaning anymore? Or is it now old and tired, and basically habitual?' ... Of course, who am I to judge? But I'm simply being honest.

So.
Jesus is my joy.
My Joy.

He can be - and is - a lot of people's joy... but that means different things to each. While I believe that our Lord God is universal, I don't think that He is the same to each of His children. And I love that. I'm thankful for that. That's another that things that brings me joy - variety. Differences. Knowing that diversity exists makes me happy because it reminds me how grand this place we call "home" is... and that I am merely one person. Small. Finite. It makes me remember how big and powerful and majestic my God is - and that is a wonderful thing. I love thinking about position and location... I mean, currently I am sitting in a room within our student center. The student center is located within the central part of our campus. Our campus is located in southern Moberly, which is in north central Missouri. Missouri is in the Midwest within the United States of America. The country is part of North America, in the western hemisphere. The earth [obviously] consists of two hemispheres. The planet Earth is the third planet from the sun, within the Milky Way galaxy... amid universes and universes and universes.

And yet my Lord God holds my life in His hands.
He knows every thought.
Every desire.
Every fear.
... Everything.

Joyous thoughts, indeed.

Sometimes I wonder if people realize the true joy that is available to us, the joy that is a gift through the Holy Spirit. There is truly a difference between worldly and spiritual joy. Joy unspeakable... uncontrollable, even, to an extent. Let me tell you: the worst time and place to experience this is during the school day... while in class... oh boy - but dare not complain about that! Anyway, this kind of joy fills you entirely. Sometimes you have no idea where it comes from; it simply comes upon you and you can do nothing but accept it and praise God. I think, however, that it is good to ask God for this kind of joy, and expect that He will give it to you. But I also think that it's important to share this joy with others - don't keep it to yourself! Allow the Spirit to move and work through you. Who knows what others will gain from that shared portion of joy? Things such as knowing that a prayer has been answered also gives me great joy. Divine appointments. Vulnerability and meaningful conversation. Sigh... God is good.

On a more secular note, some things that give me simple joy include the following [in no particular order, of course]:

Country drives.
Thunderstorms.
Sitting in clover patches.
Fishing.
Exploring new places.
Memories of Mer.
Empathizing with others.
The smell of fresh cut grass.
My hands - and getting them dirty.
Elephants.
My nephew.
Discipling girls.
Really great, fresh fruits/vegetables.
Mountainous regions/hills.
Being scared [weird, I know].
Spinning.
People-watching/-storymaking.
Wisdom.

Regardless of your definition of joy, and what brings you joy, you should consider taking the time to think about such things, and thank God for providing you with them.