So Much to Be Happy About
Why? Because I am a Christian. Because of the simple fact that I am a beloved child of God should give me more joy than any circumstance. Life is short and I want to spend it smiling!
Sure I could be a whiny little baby and complain about everything that doesn’t go my way. But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I find joy in the fact that I am not just a mindless blob of cells that evolved from the primordial ooze on a planet that just happened to come in to existence and just so happened to have an environment that is able to support life. I find joy in the fact that I was loved into existence by a God who is love Himself, and that He has given me free will to make my own decisions. I find joy in His loving arms that have welcomed me back the times that I have gone astray. I find joy in the beauty of creation, my God-given talents, my “inalienable rights” and freedoms, and my family and friends. I find joy in the challenges of life, for without them there could be no victories.
So that’s why I try everyday to bring to mind all of the things I am thankful for and that bring me joy, giving thanks to God for His enumerable blessings.
A Measure of Authenticity
Joy is not necessarily the same thing as happiness. I can be incredibly unhappy with a certain difficult situation I am facing or with the way that someone treated me, yet I can remain joyful. My joy doesn’t depend on the way that I think things should go. And dwelling on my own misfortunes or better yet the consequences of my own bad decisions doesn’t make my problems go away. In fact, having a negative attitude just worsens things.
As a Christian I have learned that good can come from any situation. Why do I believe this? Because I have seen and experienced it in my own life. Many times I think my life is over or that the world is going to end because the way I imagine things to go is not the way things actually turned out. In retrospect I can look back on these occasions and realize that I grew through that difficult situation—spiritually, emotionally, physically, psychologically. Perhaps I learned that I am not God and can’t control every situation in my life, and that I should be trusting in Him and submitting myself to His will, His plan for me.
Often times I can look back and see God’s hand at work in my life and then I am grateful that I went through whatever I went through, because I am now stronger, holier, more trustworthy of God because of it. And the more I mature spiritually the more clear it becomes and I can recognize God’s handiwork as it’s happening.
Joy in Evangelization
Joy is a side-effect of an authentic Christian life. I can go to Church every Sunday, pray for hours on end, and volunteer in every form of charitable work imaginable, but if I am not doing it with a smile on my face and with joy in my heart than there is something missing. I am doing Christianity, not being a Christian.
I think alot of people have come to think reverence means no smiling. We can’t possibly have fun at Church. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth. I don’t go to Mass to be a mindless drone standing, sitting, kneeling, and repeating meaningless words for no reason. I go to Church to encounter God. And I do! Sometimes more than others, but that’s in His hands. I encounter God in the readings of Scripture, in the prayers that are offered, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, in the songs that we sing, and in the faces of the people gathered in His name.
This past Sunday at Mass one of the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion was distributing the Eucharist with a huge smile on his face. I’m sad to say it, but that was a unique experience for me. It’s not often that I receive communion with a smile. But if you think about it, he was doing his job. He is not just handing out peices of bread, but rather he is bringing the risen Lord into the lives of every single person who approaches him. That’s our job as Christians. That’s what evangelization is all about.
We can’t evangelize without a smile on our face. Who wants to buy what you’re selling if you don’t even want it yourself. How can you share Christianity with someone if it doesn’t bring you joy to be a Christian?
Not only is joy contagious, but it’s attractive. I don’t like being around pouty-faced people who are full of negativity. Do you? On the other hand, I love to be in the company of joyful people who smile and laugh and truly enjoy life. So I figure, why not be one of those people?
A Close Encounter with Joy
I remember one of the first times I experienced true joy was last Christmas when I joined a group of people from my church who were visiting the convalescent homes in our area to spread the holiday cheer, sing Christmas carols, and hand out homemade cookies. At first I was a bit reluctant to go into the rooms of these strangers, especially since not all of them gave us a warm welcome. But when I did I came across a tiny old lady who had her back turned to me.
I called to her a few times asking her if she wanted some cookies, but got no response. Finally, she turned around slowly and didn’t look to happy to see me. I reached out my hand to give her the cookies and repeated a few times that they were a gift—realizing only now that she was hard of hearing and that her vision was fading—and after a few seconds her face completely changed. She lit up and smiled like I’ve never seen anyone smile and her eyes were full of a deep, profound joy. I will never forget that sweet face. That moment deeply impacted me and gave me a new understanding of what joy can do in the lives of others.
Get You Some Joy
When I look at myself and the mirror and I don’t see joy, then I beg the Holy Spirit to break me off a piece. That’s the beauty of being a Christian, I can always call upon God to help me. I don’t have to do everything on my own.
“Renew my joy in your salvation.”
~ Psalm 51:14
That’s what I pray when I need joy. In the morning when I wake up I ask God for joy. With joy and the positive attitude that comes along with it I feel like I can take on the world and all it’s challenges.
It has taken me years to realize that I can ask God for joy and now that I know I don’t let a day go by without doing so. For when worst comes to worst He is my joy. Ask him to pour out His joy. As you kneel in thanksgiving after recieving communion, ask Jesus Christ to fill you with His joy as He becomes one with you and you become one with Him.
It seems simple, but a smile can change a life. Try it. And let me know how it works out for you.