You read the title correct, my end goal of my life is not to be happy. “That’s crazy! Don’t you want to be happy?” you may ask. What if I told you I experience something better than happiness and that is joy. Happiness is a temporary emotion we all experience at certain times. Right now Christmas trees are making us happy as we look forward to Christmas this year. After Christmas, the Christmas tree goes away and that source of happiness is gone. Joy is different. We can experience joy everyday if we choose to. Joy is a choice and a gift. 

Each day as we wake up we most likely think about what we have to do for the day and some days can be overwhelming. In these moments we need to calm down, count our blessings, and choose joy that morning. Not happiness, but joy. Tell yourself no matter what the day brings everything will be okay and remember the blessings in your life.  In my own life I remind myself Jesus is in control of my life and is always with me. Jesus is my source of joy. A part of choosing joy is choosing to follow Him daily. Joy is given to us from Jesus. He is the source of all joy.

I like to think of joy as taking in each moment and pondering them. Just like Mary the mother of Jesus did. The Bible tells us she would ponder moments in her heart. She cherished them. Mary and Joseph were in a difficult situation as they were not married and she was pregnant. Joseph almost sent Mary away and didn’t marry her. That was a difficult and stressful time for both of them, especially Mary. Mary chose to be thankful and worship God during this time.  She wasn’t happy every day, but she had joy. Mary chose joy in her difficult situation. Mary cherished each moment. That doesn’t mean she was running around shouting from rooftops every day, but she was experiencing joy in quiet moments.

Happiness is an emotion we experience for a short time. Joy is choice that can last for our life. Joy doesn’t mean happiness, but is the realization that Jesus is at the center of your life and that He is in control of all things. Life is not easy and happiness is not available in every moment, but Jesus, who brings us joy, is with us in every life circumstance.