When you think about the joys in your life, what are the first things that come to mind? All of us have different experiences and ideas about what brings about the warm fuzzies for each of us. I’ve mentioned before that joy is lasting, and happiness is fleeting.
Happiness is the rush you feel when experiencing a place you’ve longed to visit. The feel of adrenaline coursing through you as you prepare to take on a slope; the sense of accomplishment for completing a difficult project. You remember these experiences with a sense of achievement and happiness.
Joy is the experiences, the thoughts, and memories that touch your soul, bring you peace on a troubled day, and fill you with wonder and cause a genuine smile to light up your face.
I have a mental album of experiences that bring me joy. I flip through these memories and “new” old memories are sparked by other memories and thoughts—sometimes it’s like a beautiful treasure hunt. Some are captured by photographs, some by a souvenir, but all bring me joy.
You’ll laugh—I laugh with joy—but truly, something that brings me true joy is “communing” (at least that’s what my husband calls it) with the cows. This time of year the herd typically stays in the back pasture gathered around the hay rings, close to the food supply. It’s also not far from the water. Yesterday they made the trek around to the front pasture and lazed there all afternoon. He made the comment they were waiting for me to come see them. Since the entire herd was clustered at the fence, I grabbed my coat and out the door I went to “talk to my cows.”
I won’t get into the long story, but several in our herd have names, and the bull is one of them. As soon as I approached the fence, Samson began to sunfish, lowing deeply, and came barreling towards me, pushing cows and calves out of the way. He wedged his head through the barbed wire so that I would rub and praise him. I exchanged rubs for licks, and we were both happy—well, he would have been happier had I given him grain, but that’s another story. This time with Samson, and the rest of the herd gathered around, brought me joy and peace. I laughed at him and at myself. We’re both silly, but it was a moment that I’ll tuck away and pull out on a “rainy day” to experience again.
What puts a smile on your face? What brings you joy, a sense of peace, a settled spirit? Some moments are able to be recreated with frequency, like the one I described above—Samson is an attention hog. Other moments are a once-in-a-lifetime moment of joy—the first time I held each of my children. Don’t take anything for granted. Look for those moments of JOY, the instances that settle your soul and bring you a deep-seated peace. There is nothing like it. You’ll know it when you feel it. Treasure those moments. Prayers for peace and joy to you today. (Proverbs 17:22)
April 4, 2025
