Have we ever had the opportunity to explore the true differences between happiness and joy? And, the kind of role each does or can play in our lives, whether in good times or bad?

I’ve spent a lot of time in reflection on this and not just since retiring. In fact, I used to think about it when driving to and from work and during those crazy hectic days. I used to think about it when strolling across campus, surrounded by thousands of teenagers and hundreds of adults, living lives individually and in community. As I thought about it and gained new experience, the differences became much more clear and I find more and more moments that can only be described as joyful … joy filled. So, where does that come from and what does it have to do with happiness?

Of course, our nation formally began via the Declaration of Independence, wherein the pursuit of happiness was one of three unalienable rights endowed by our Creator. In other words, life, liberty, and happiness are the most important principles of our society and are gifts we should protect and deeply value. Ok, enough of being a history teacher.

Fast forward to this young 21st century and not the time of the Eurocentric Enlightenment. I actually do believe that our culture is built around the pursuit of happiness as a foundational principle. Don’t worry, be happy! Grab what we can get because the stuff will make us happy. I have nothing against happiness and in fact like to be happy, rather than sad. But, not at the expense of what’s real and lasting and significant.

I’m particularly displeased that a portion of a rather important source of my life decided to shear off and disrupt things. I’m not pleased that we had to cut our anticipated trip to the Colorado Rockies short or that I may not be able to do some other things in the short run that I like and look forward to. But, do those things make me happy or it something else?

Can the distinction between happiness and joy run something like this: Happiness is usually tied to some thing, whether in the possession of or in a way that disappears fairly shortly afterwards. Maybe I don’t have that exactly right. On the other hand, joy is a consuming thing that fills us not with a momentary soft good feeling but cuts deeply into us and can even abide strongly in our memory. Surely, all of us have experienced joy, although some may not as much anymore. Is there any greater joy than love? Isn’t joy connected to love in some way? Isn’t it a window into something permanent that says I belong in this moment, in this place and I can’t imagine being anywhere else right now?

Isn’t one of the distinctions that we pursue happiness but joy just arrives, unbidden, and with a force that can range from subtly warm to something that knocks us back or down? That takes our breath away?

Isn’t the pursuit of happiness an effort to find fulfillment in things that don’t last? Isn’t joy about the the recognition that the things that last are available if we surrender that pursuit?

My/our faith is one that recognizes the remarkable connection between love, grace, hope and joy. I did not understand this all that well in the first five decades of my life, although I had many glimpses and had experienced all of these things to a degree. In fact, a life lived through a lens of these four things is a life that flourishes, regardless of the circumstances.

My friend, Sally, posted a reply yesterday to my reflections (I guess that’s something you can do with a blog … I’m not on Facebook and have never really participated in a blog!) where she remarked on the fact that the words “scared” and “sacred” are so close. I get her point. If hope is the opposite of anxious or fearful, sacred spaces truly mitigate the things that can make us afraid.

God has gifted me with being ok being quiet and contemplative, to be contrasted with the times that I burst forth with tons of energy. I believe that fact has allowed me to surrender some strivings that are ubiquitous these days (not all!) and be available to joy. I believe that it’s much more difficult for fear and anxiety to secure a firm foothold if our days are punctuated by moments of joy.

Put bluntly, I believe joy is a gift from God and evidence of his role in our life. I believe that the pursuit of happiness can be a deterrent to that gift and that we sacrifice the opportunity to be in those sacred places too often.  I think it was in 2009 that I finally experienced the true power of joy. It changed me. As some of you know, I thought my heart would burst and it was deeply painful as a bursting heart inevitably is! I didn’t know if I could breathe but I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. The moment, surrounded by (100?) loving people acting out of grace, gave way to a pure vision of heaven and I knew that deep was calling out to deep, in abiding love. Every moment of joy since then, even the small ones like having breakfast or lunch with a close friend, sharing life together in a way that is not common, especially for men, is connected to that grand moment. Full breaths. Beautiful music, instrumental and vocal. Hiking through forests where Diane and I are about the only ones around. Or, hiking or snowshoeing high in the alpine with close friends. Or, early moments with Diane in the morning, just sipping coffee, chatting about this and that and ushering in a new day. Or the embrace of one of my sons. Or deep in prayer where prayer is much more than asking but about listening and, perhaps, even hearing. Or participating in helping to renew the spirits of others, especially if they’ve been wounded. I could go on for hours. What are your joys?

Yes, the writing of this is a kind of therapy for me but I pray ahead of time and ask God what he’d like me to share that can touch lives and help others flourish as I have. Then, the fingers sort of dance quickly across the keys of the laptop.

Rest assured, dear friends, that Diane and I are not afraid and we rejoice each day. We can’t begin to account for all of you and our relationships with you other than to see it as miraculous and to receive it as gift. This little thing going on upstairs in my own “God’s Country” has its own story but the bigger story is eternal.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12

Amen.