JOY

The story is told about the woman who scrimped and saved for passage from England to the U.S. She carefully hoarded her money until she had just enough for fare and enough to get her started on her new life. She took her food with her and while all the other passengers went gaily off to plentiful meals in the dining room, she stayed in her cabin eating meager provisions.

On the last day of her journey, she decided to allow herself the final meal in the dining room. She perused the menu but did not see any prices listed. She chose something she thought would be inexpensive and asked the waiter how much that menu item cost. The waiter answered that all meals were included in the price of the ship's passage.

The lady could have eaten the delicious meals every day!

I wonder how often our journey through life is like that. We run and we stress and we hurry and we worry and we push ourselves. We are working for that great reward and eternal happiness. We are apt to get to the judgment seat and have our great judge ask us what joy we found in life and it will be like the V-8 commercial: We'll hit ourselves in the head and exclaim in wonder, "I could've had joy!?!"

Do I notice the joyful moments in my life? Do I relish them? Do I actually take time to have them? What do I do that brings joy into my life?

Things that bring me joy:
*serving others
*laughing with my children
*dating my husband
*hiking
*eating food from my garden
*watching my children succeed
*curling up with a good book an a cup of hot chocolate
*savoring a good piece of chocolate
*time out with girlfriends
*accomplishing a goal
*finishing a project
*surprising someone
*buying something for someone else

What brings you joy?