Joy

My middle name is Joy so I have become some sort of a stickler for using the word joy when you should and not just using it interchangeably with happiness or cheerfulness or some other similar word. I say that happiness is a momentary thing that changes according to the mood but joy is something that sticks with you regardless of your emotional state. When someone has joy it is clear because even when they are in 'the pit of dispair' (insert voice from Princess Bride), they are able to appreciate life. People say that love is not a feeling but a choice, well I think that joy is also a choice. It's the choice to be content no matter what you are dealing with, the choice to recognize that there is more to the world than your little circle, and the choice to be thankful for what you have even if it is not enough.
I pray that I have joy and that I am able to show my joy to others by the way I live.