Chapter 7: A Journey of Joy

 

Chapter Seven

A Journey of Joy

“Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord” (Isa. 2:5).
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            Life is a journey.  Is it a journey of joy?  Are you working to make it so? For some it may appear that other’s joy is greater than yours.  Why is that?  We all laugh. We all hurt. We all make mistakes. We all dream. But we don’t all feel joy in our journey.  So how can we turn our lives journey into a journey of joy?

Russell M. Nelson said that in order to have true joy there are at least three factors that are needed.  He teaches us that we need to feel good about ourselves, we need to feel good about our friends and companions, and possibly the most important is that we must feel good about our relation with God. (see Elder Nelson's talk, "Joy Cometh in the Morning", Ensign, Nov. 1986, 67)

Are you spending your life the way you are meant to?  Do you wake up each day excited because you are using the gifts you were given at birth? Or are you still waiting for the  some big personal revelation to show you how to be happy?  You can learn to  wake up with a fire in your belly knowing you can make a difference in your day, and rising every morning full of happiness and eager to get to work because of the Plan of Happiness.  “Joy cometh in the morning” (Psalms 30:5)

 “The gospel of Jesus Christ offers hope; it declares joy to be part of our divine destiny. And to experience joy in the morning becomes our special challenge. The true test is to be able to look in the mirror, first thing in the morning, and feel real joy.” (Russell M. Nelson, “Joy Cometh in the Morning,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 67)

            What inspires you?  Where do you find inspiration and joy?  For me, that is the easiest, and most enjoyable, part of what I get from writing.  I am inspired by things the rest of the world may not even notice.  After taking a walk one morning I came home and wrote down my experience.

             It is so incredibly beautiful outside.  The wind was blowing a cool, fragrant breeze and the aroma of summer filled my senses with a magnificent tonic smell.  My hair was tossed so freely around and my skin was softened by the touch of moisture in the air left from the rain of the night.  My heart thumped as I thought of the beauty that was around me.  Though hurried cars rushed by in some busy areas I knew they were there but never really saw them.  While my eyes beheld the green ornaments of nature around me, 

Oh the beauty of the suns rays glistening off the dew on the trees and the creek was like a mirror reflecting the light of the rising sun as it peered through the trees.  Everything sparkled in magnificent excellence.  Though I was listening to music that touched my soul I could hear the chirping of the birds and rustling of little creatures on the banks of the creek.  

What a wonderful morning walk it had been.

Will there always be this same beauty on the paths we walk? Sometimes we find ourselves walking on paths that we didn’t choose. But we must follow Him anyway, for the path where God's leading may be through the barrenness of the desert, or through the stormy waves of the sea, but it is the safest place on earth if we walk with Him. It doesn't matter if the sky is dark, darker than it's ever been before, or if the lightning is crashing so close that we fear to go on. It doesn't matter if the way is so hard and rocky that with bleeding feet we are not sure we can take another step. We must hold on.

Michael McLean, a popular songwriter has written a song titled, “Hold On, The Light Will Come.”  As I was thinking about the Lunar Eclipse we had recently witnesses I thought about that song.  It seemed we stood forever watching for that moment when the moon would be totally blocked from the sun’s light.  Clouds kept blocking our view but how magnificent it was to see this glorious sight created to happen by our Heavenly Father.  We watched the light slowly disappear from our moon only to wait and see the light reappear.  To my own astonishment it seemed that the light was even brighter than it had been before it had the light taken from it.

Thinking about my own life and the times when the light seems to be gone, I can always rejoice in its return and often find that it is brighter than before that moment when it seemed to leave.  Our Savior had the light withdrawn from him for a moment as he suffered in Gethsemane for us.  His atonement is the most transcendent event that ever has or ever will occur from Creation’s dawn through all the ages of a never-ending eternity.

Whatever path drives us to Gethsemane’s garden the Master’s outstretched arms are open to receive all.  We are all keepers of the light.

President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., said:

“Every human being is born with the light of faith kindled in his heart as on an altar, and that light burns and the Lord sees that it burns, during the period before we are accountable. When accountability comes then each of us determines how we shall feed and care for that light. If we shall live righteously that light will glow until it suffuses the whole body, giving to it health and strength and spiritual light as well as bodily health. If we shall live unrighteously that light will dwindle and finally almost flicker out. Yet it is my hope and my belief that the Lord never permits the light of faith wholly to be extinguished in any human heart, however faint the light may glow. The Lord has provided that there shall still be there a spark which, with teaching, with the spirit of righteousness, with love, with tenderness, with example, with living the Gospel, shall brighten and glow again, however darkened the mind may have been. And if we shall fail so to reach those among us of our own whose faith has dwindled low, we shall fail in one of the main things which the Lord expects at our hands.” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1936, p. 114.)

            Life is a school of experience, a time of probation. We learn as we bear our afflictions and live through our heartaches.  From the bed of pain, from the pillow wet with tears, we are lifted heavenward by that divine assurance and precious promise “I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” (Joshua 1:5) Such comfort is priceless as we journey along the pathway of mortality, with its many forks and turnings. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalms 30:5)

            One of my joys came when my one year old granddaughter Hannah came to visit one Christmas Season; I had the chance to go for a short walk with her. She had recently mastered the art of walking...at least barefooted, but since this walk would be outdoors her mother adorned her little feet with cute tiny sandals and then we set out for our walk delivering Christmas gifts to our neighbors. (Yes, in Texas you can wear sandals even in December).
            With her petite arm stretched upward to grasp my finger with her small hand, we caught glances and shared a smile of delight from both sides. As we began on our little mission, she was walking with so much gusto only to be slowed by the occasional stumble caused by the sole of the shoe on her sandal, but nevertheless, she never let that slow her down.

Not being disturbed at all by her slight faltering, she continued to put one foot in front of the other with as much joy and excitement as she did before she had stumbled.  She seemed to realized that she never had to worry about falling because she knew that grandma had her hand firmly in hers ready to keep her from tumbling down  as long as she was holding on to my hand.
            As I thought about these sweet moments spent with Hannah, I realized that we all have times that we are not as comfortable walking in a pair of shoes as we are in others. Through our lives we have different pairs of shoes that we will wear on our feet.  New experiences may take some time to get use to before we can feel as comfortable walking in them as we did with our previous walking gear. While breaking in our new shoes, there is also a good chance that we too will stumble, but if we grip firmly to our Heavenly Father's hand (and those that represent His hands) we will not fall. We may stump our toes or falter some during our learning, but we won't fall unless we let go and try to walk alone.  I'm thankful for sweet experiences such as holding on to Hannah’s hand that day that will continue to come to me teach me lessons of life. 

            I know that as we walk in his steps each days, that our eyes can be opened and we can learn to enjoy the simple pleasures and wonders of our world and become even as little children having joy in our eternal journey. We take one step at a time. In doing so we reach toward the unknown, but faith lights the way. If we will cultivate that faith, we shall never walk in darkness.   “Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord” (Isa. 2:5).  As we walk in the light my prayer is that we can all find the joy and fulfillment that can be ours as we journey through this world.

Remember your goals.  Take control and unclutter your life. Remember that you are not alone. Surround yourself with people that will empower you to reach your goals. Our Father in Heaven knows and loves us perfectly. We have not shed a tear or prayed a prayer that he is not aware of. He wants things to be better for us. He will give us inspiration and comfort. He will send teachers and leaders and friends to help us. We need to accept their help and their love and stop being so hard on ourselves. We don’t have to be perfect by tomorrow, we can’t be perfect tomorrow. We have have a lifetime ahead of us, and we have to know it will get easier. We can make it. It’s not easy, I can perfectly attest to that, but I know we can do it. We must not ever give up which means we may need to stop and breathe for a moment and realize our greatness is a life long pursuit built by small and simple acts.  Our biggest job may be to take care of ourselves so that we can help take care of others if we are going to enjoy the journey. I hope that  with a tone of excitement in our voice and attitude  of  joy that we will too ask the question, “What Now?”