What Is True Joy? – An Advent Reflection
- Conversations In Society
Universe Of Faith- 0
- 4 minutes read
Joy… what is Joy… true Joy? C.S Lewis said that “joy is an unsatisfied desire that is more desirable than any satisfaction”. Here’s what I think he meant!
Joy is our companion in life when we seek to be authentic, selfless, and free in the Spirit.
Joy is the genuine smile we express, when we are pondering on how grateful we are for our life.
Joy is the state of mind we experience when things are not necessarily happening as we wish them to be but we still experience deep peace within.
Joy does not need to be shot by a camera or shared on social media. It can be experienced in solitude or in the sole presence of a beloved.
Joy is what a father or a mother experience when their daughter or son who they had a difficult relationship with, now chooses to embrace them.
Joy is the gaze of a friend who looks at you dearly.
Joy are the tears that trickle down your cheeks, tears that come from a place deep within, after feeling deeply appreciated by someone who you have given your all to.
Joy is the person who realises that they have hurt someone, but they still try their best to amend things, even in their weaknesses.
Joy is the cheerful smile of a child who remembers a considerate word you have said to them.
Joy is the person who feels seen and accepted for who they truly are.
Joy is discovering a truth about yourself that you have long been searching for.
Joy is being each other’s messengers of His light.
Joy is finding a new true friend whom you can share your joys and struggles with.
Joy is understanding that even your suffering can have a purpose.
Finally, true joy is discovering that God is real and present in the life you live. It is knowing that God can use even your vulnerabilities to show His (and your) glory!
These blessings of joy do not cost money, but they cost everything.
To experience them deeply, one must offer all they are and all their life for a greater purpose. We must give our all to love purely and in simplicity.
In giving our all for love, we receive all that really matters. We receive God – love itself!
As Raïssa Maritain wrote in one of her diary entries: “joy is being able to call him Father with a great tenderness, to feel him so kind and so close to us”.
Written by Carla Borg
Read More:
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Spiritual Gifts That Ordinary People Can Give to Our Non-Ideal World
