Joy

Joy.
Christmas cheer.
It's about all you hear about this time of year.
And yeah, it's pretty cliched I have to admit.
I mean, we hear the same thing every single year, "Oh tidings of comfort and joy." Everyone sit around the fire and roast marshmallows and we'll all be happy, right?
I think not.
Lately, my life hasn't been exactly what you call "joyful." Nothing majorly bad, just regular things all teenagers go through, I guess. And I'm sure that not everyone around this time of year is singing "Have a holly jolly Christmas" and really means it.
But then joy kinda brings me back to what Christmas is about. Jesus. I mean, He is WHY we're supposed to be joyful right? I think a lot of times we just hear the word joy and it goes over our heads. I mean think about: Joy. True joy. Where does real, honest to goodness, bona fide joy come from? Well obviously from Christ. I know a lot of times, without even noticing I'm doing it, I just try to find joy in other things. In my friends, in relationships, in family, and even in this fun time of year. I look for joy in all the wrong places. Especially lately. And lately I have been looking at all the bad things going on in my life, and I'm thinking, "Why is this happening to me?" Well. Maybe it's because the things that are going wrong are the places where I was looking for joy. And maybe these tough things are really going to bring me to true, pure joy that only my Savior can give me.
As this Christmas season begins, I have really been evaluating where my joy is coming from. I have realized I haven't been seeking joy from my Savior, but from other things that are distracting me from Him. So from now on, whenever I start singing Joy to the World, I need to remember where I can only find true joy. Within the past few weeks I have just started thinking a lot about how lost I am without a Savior. I mean, I've always known that, but it has hit me so hard with all the tough things that I go through. And I have started lately trying to really focus in on finding my joy in Christ.
Also, I think a lot of us have a huge misconception of joy. We think, "Oh joy is being happy and jolly and frolicsome and smiley and delighted and dancy and giggly and ladedadeda all the time." Ahem. ~game show wrong answer buzzer~ That's not true. Joy is not just being happy. It's learning to be content in whatever circumstances we happen to have. Example: James 1:2 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds." 'K hold it right there. Do you think trials are fun and happy and jolly and frolicsome... okay you get the picture. Well obviously they aren't. No. This joy is learning to be content in our circumstances, and realize that God is using these circumstances to build us up in Him.
So. I guess what you could say is I'm trying to learn right now how to be joyful in circumstances that are less than frolicsome. And I know that Christ will teach me how to do that, if I just trust in Him. And for those who aren't having a terribly jolly Christmas season thus far, just remember where to find your true joy, peace, and solace.
I'm learning a new sense of the word "joy."

Lovelovelove and Christmas cheer
~Madison