JOY

O to share the great, sunny, joyous life on the earth! to be as
happy as the birds are! as contented as the cattle on the hills! as the
leaves of the trees that dance and rustle in the wind! as the waters that
murmur and sparkle to the sea! To be able to see that the sin and
sorrow and suffering of the world are a necessary part of the natural
course of things, a phase of the law of growth and development that
runs through the universe, bitter in its personal application, but
illuminating when we look upon life as a whole!

Today, whatever may annoy,
The word for me is Joy, just simple joy;
The joy of life;
The joy of children and of wife;
The joy of bright, blue skies;
The joy of rain; the glad surprise
Of twinkling stars that shine at night;
The joy of winged things upon their flight;
The joy of noonday, and the tried
True joyness of evertides;
The joy of labor, and of mirth;
The joy of air, and sea, and earth --
The countless joys that ever flow from Him
Whose vast beneficence doth dim
The lustrous light of day,
And lavish gifts divine upon our way,
Whate'er there be of Sorrow
I'll put off till Tomorrow,
And when Tomorrow comes, why then
'Twill be Today and Joy again!

      My dear child, I want to tell you how much I rejoice in you. It
grieves Me that so many of My children do not believe I enjoy then.
They are constantly distracted by their inadequacies. They imagine I
look at them with a frown instead of a smile.
      Think of the joy a father and mother have when their child is
born. What great joy I had when you were born again! I caused all
heaven to rejoice.
      I want My joy to be in you and your joy to be full. Many of
your inhibitions have gone, haven't they? I love to break through all
that stuff. It's great when you want to skip and dance and rejoice with
Me. This is My joy in you. Don't you realize I was already rejoicing
before it even occurred to you?
      Joy is not an emotional response to situations. I am not an
emotion; I am spirit. Joy is a fruit of My Spirit in your life. I don't
want to see that joy suffocated by problems and cares that concern
you.
      I never take My joy away from you. It is always within you
and can always be expressed in your life.

Let me but live from year to year,
With forward face and unreluctant soul.
Not hastening to, nor turning from the goal;
Not mourning for the things that disappear
In the dim past, nor holding back in fear
      From what the future veils; but with a whole
      And happy heart, that pays its toll
To youth and age, and travels on with cheer.
So let the way wind up the hill or down,
      Though rough or smooth, the journey will be joy,
      Still seeking what I sought when but a boy,
New friendship, high adventure, and a crown,
      I shall grow old, but never lose life's zest,
      Because the road's last turn will be the best.

Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born;
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight;
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine;
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.
It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know
Safely through the world we go.

There is, above all, the laughter that comes from the eternal
joy of creation, the joy of making the world anew, the joy of express-
ing the inner riches of the soul --- laughter from triumphs over pain
and hardship in the passion for an enduring ideal, the joy of bringing
the light of happiness, of truth and beauty into a dark world. This is
divine laughter par excellence.

When people are merry and dance, it sometimes happens that
they catch hold of someone, who is sitting outside and grieving, pull
him into the round, and make him rejoice with them. The same
happens in the heart of one who rejoices: grief and sorrow draw away
from him, but it is a special virtue to pursue them with courage and
to draw grief into gladness, so that all the strength of sorrow may be
tranformed into joy.