"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."
I have thought about this scripture a lot. I think joy is different than regular happiness. There is something more to it. I think joy comes from knowing that you are doing your very best to do what Heavenly Father wants you to do. That does not mean you are perfect. It means you are trying, and taking advantage of the atonement when you fall short.
Sometimes I have to remind myself and my family that this scripture says "joy," not "fun." I think our society confuses these things at times. We want our families to be happy so we plan activities that we think will be fun. I'm not saying fun is bad. Fun is good. I just don't think it is the answer to a happy family, as I sometimes make it out to be.
Joy seems to me to have an element of excitement to it, an element that fills us up to overflowing. Maybe when we truly have that joy is when we can't wait to share it with others.
ReplyDeleteI think I have glimpses of joy, but it doesn't live with me everyday. That's primarily due to ingratitude, I think. I tend to tell myself, "If only x (I lost some weight, kid x wasn't doing y, I wasn't struggling with this person), then I'd be happy." Continuing to wait for something (often outside of my control), before I can be truly satisfied with my life. Definitely something that I recognize, and try to work on.
But I love that scripture. To me, it shows how much our Heavenly Father loves us. He doesn't want mediocre for us - the just getting by that is a hallmark of so many of my days. He wants a happiness so deep and encompassing that it fills us up and wants to burst forth.
I find myself doing that same thing. I tell myself, things will be better when...such and such happens.
DeleteI "get by" as well. I heard something recently talking about thriving in motherhood instead of just surviving. It really hit home with me. I have often felt in survival mode. Yet, I wonder why that is. I have so much to be grateful for. I think maybe sometimes it starts with a conscience decision to be happy.
I don't know. But I know I like the fact that "men are so they might have joy." :)
I think you're right - it's a conscious decision to be happy right here right now regardless of what challenges you're facing. Sounds a lot like faith, huh? And I think it's hard to have joy until we have that nearly-constant state of happiness/faith.
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