Where'd My Joy Go?

Somehow,
somewhere along the road of my journey I lost my joy.
Lost may be a far fetched word and I most likely choose to misplace it.
Misdirect it.
OK, so like my hairbrush, my wallet and my keys, I lost it.
For now.
or,
for then.

I'm getting it back.
Slowly.
But it's coming.

JOY
Jesus
Others
Yourself

As I sat across my kitchen counter I asked her, "what's the deal with joy?"
She shared the above acronym and the tears swelled up.
"I don't even need to share with you what I wanted to share" I said
"For all I have to say deals with me."

See I was trying to spell joy, yoj or yjo.
Either way I was working hard at making the "y" sound say the "j" sound.
Working hard and keeping me first and wondering why I was hating it.

So I "googled" joy in my Bible app.
The list was long.
God has a lot to say about joy.

"Rejoice in hope
be patient in tribulation
be constant in prayer." Romans 12:12

Rejoice in hope. My hope in in Christ and Christ alone. My rejoicing, my joy comes from that hope.
My hope can not rely on circumstances, job, address, bank account, closet, dreams, future, husband, kids; 
no 
my hope, 
my source of rejoicing------lies in the Lord. 
It's simple.
Jesus--- that's the start of joy.

"When they saw the star,
they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy" Matthew 2:10

That refers to the wise men when the star they were following came to a halt above the place where Jesus was.
The place where he was.
Did you get that? It wasn't when they saw him or heard him speak, they just knew he was near.
They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. That's a lot of joy.
and yet they hadn't even seen Jesus yet.
They just knew he was near.
How often to I demand a sighting?
He is near.
That my friends is worth rejoicing over- and rejoicing with exceedingly great joy.

I want that.

So I could share more but for now it's that simple.
I need it simple.

Life is complicated enough with late nights with toddlers and teenagers.
Preparing and cooking meals,
taxiing kids and staying on a budget.
Laundry and housework, friends and family;
yeah life is complicated and I desire for simple.

Simple things like Jesus.
Finding my joy in him.
Resting in Him.

From Jesus my joy can grow,
is growing,
has grown.

So to you, I ask...
where is your joy from?
The everlasting or the temporal?
The One who all hope rests in or the fleeting hope of the world?

Have joy,