Joy in Life...Is it because of circumstance?

Have you ever really thought about the difference between joy & happiness? I have. Happiness is temporary.....I was happy to get to dress up for an '80's pary! I'm happy that the 2 peeps that took EOG's made 4's on all of them. I'm happythat I got to go out to lunch with a friend today. I'm happy that I got a new skirt & cute shoes at Good Will yesterday! I'm even happy that I sold some of our 'junk' at a yard sale Saturday! But, joy....what is joy?

Joy is deep. It's not just a temporary high from life circumstance. Joy is a contentment even in the midst of horrible circumstances. Joy can't be mustered up! You can't just decide, "I'm going to be joyful today if it kills me!" All of this has been rolling around in my head for quite sometime. Why?

Well....When my visual impairment took my ability to read without a magnifier, write checks/pay bills, drive, see the peeps precious faces, I thought I'd never be happy again! Well....I was looking at things so much differently than I should've been. Driving brings getting out of my house independently...that brings happiness. Reading and writing without aid makes life easier, that brings happiness! Seeing my sweet peeps' faces clearly surely brings much happiness, but it doesn't bring joy!

Interacting with the peeps and the hubs brings joy that's unimaginable! Being content with our life circumstances here & now brings joy! The joy comes from knowing that there's someone who's in control of all of this...this life that seemed like such a mistake, like it just wasn't supposed to happen this way! But it was. This life that the hubs, the peeps, and I are living is exactly as it was meant to be! There is a plan. The Planner is weaving all these frazzled, frayed threads into a beautiful tapestry! That's where the joy is!

It appears that soon I'll be back on the road with a restricted driver's license, but that just makes me happy. The joy is in the journey.