Joyful January: What Joy Is and How You Can Have It

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It's the beginning of January.  My enchanted, Christmas-y world is packed up in bins and stored away until November.  Visiting family have returned to their homes, and Hubby is back to work after a nice, long staycation. School will soon begin again, and life will settle back into its normal rhythm.

I confess to a slight battle against the blues that want to taint my heart and mind.  It doesn't sneak up on me anymore, because this melancholy has waged war against me January after January for many years.  What is different for me now, compared with the first time I experienced it, is that I've learned the secret to combating it:  JOY!

It becomes easier each year to fight off the blues, because I keep practicing and strengthening those joy-choosing muscles.  There are times here and there throughout the remainder of the year, too, that bring opportunities to perfect my "game."

Do you struggle, too?  God has nudged me to share with others the "secrets" to finding and keeping true joy.  And I know there are so many who struggle with this, whether it's during or after the holidays, or all year long.  I can't keep what I've learned to myself.  If there is even one person out there who reads this and is encouraged to choose joy, that person makes it SO worth the time it takes to write this post.

I'm not an expert.  I've just walked a long, joy-searching road.  And God has been gracious to teach me along the way.  Let me share with you what I have learned about joy:

Joy is not an emotion.  It does not equal happiness.  Happiness is an emotion that comes and goes with our circumstances.  Joy is an attitude we can choose regardless of our circumstances or how we feel about them.

Joy surpasses our emotions.  Joy trusts God to take care of us and believes He has our best in mind, whatever He allows us to go through.  Joy springs from a heart surrendered to the Savior.

Joy is grateful.  There is always, always something to be thankful for.  Joy chooses to look for and focus on those things.

Joy can be be cultivated and developed.  Joy isn't something that comes naturally to most people.  It's a process, a journey.

Next week we will look at some specific ways to foster an attitude of joy in our lives.

Let's encourage each other on this path of joyful living!

Joyful New Year to you!

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