More than Charlie Brown joy.
I am excited to introduce todays guest blogger: My Mama! The woman who gave me my first journal. Thanks, Mama. Now onto her first blog post EVER!
* originally posted on 4/20/11
Do you remember Charlie Brown talking about happiness?
Happiness is two kinds of ice cream,
happiness is all 18 colors (although I always wanted the box with 62 colors and a sharpener on the back,)
happiness is a warm puppy.
I always loved that book. Except for the ice cream part, I thought he was right. But what happens when the ice cream runs out, the crayons melt because you left them in the sun, and the puppy chews your favorite shoes?
All of a sudden, I’m not so happy anymore. Happiness seems to depend on the things around me being just right, and it can come or go depending on the circumstances. Then I start with the “If only’s.” If only my husband brought me flowers, if only my son got 100 on his spelling test, if only my daughter didn’t want such fancy clothes, if only my dog stopped digging up the flowerbed…then I would be happy.
But I have something else going on. When the irritating things happen, even when the really bad things happen, I know deep down that God is there to help me through. I know that God loves me. That is enough to give me joy. Joy is more than happiness. Joy isn’t dependent on the things that are going on around me. Joy is the constant assurance that “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” (Romans 8:35) And the promise that if I allow Him, God will cause good to come from any situation I encounter. The joy that lives deep down is not temporary or dependent on the vagaries of life. That gives me the confidence and the will and the strength to keep going.
– Bonnie Clemons
