Five Minute Friday - Joy

Oh, it is my favorite time of the week again.  Won’t you link up with us?  The rules are simple, and I think you will find that the rewards are great!

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link up over at The Gypsy Mama and invite others to join in.
3. Go a little overboard encouraging the writer who linked up before you.

OK, are you ready? Give me your best five minutes on:

Joy…

START

I am learning a lot about Joy this year.  Both what it is as well as what is isn't.  To me, joy is not only happiness.  It is not something that you only feel when everything is going great.  It is not something that only appears once in a while and is fleeting and then gone. 
Joy, to me, is something you feel when you have done all that you can do, and you accept, release, and let go of your difficulties.  You turn them over to the One who can bear them for you.  You give them up and allow Him to take them from you.  It is what you feel in spite of those trials. 
Joy is more than happiness.  Joy is the ultimate sensation of well being.  It is knowing that you are in harmony with your Heavenly Father teachings and commandments.  It has nothing to do with what we possess.  Joy comes from what a person is not from what he has or appears to have.
Joy makes my heart sing.  It gives me assurance that I am not alone.  It does not doubt, it does not judge, it is a moment when I love with my whole heart and soul.  It is a moment when I am close to Him and feel Him close to me. 
Feeling joy does not mean that you will never have trials.  But it does mean that you will have to ability to walk through them, learn from them, and have joy in spite of them.

STOP


Now it is your turn.  Write for five minutes then come back and join us here.  I can't wait to see what you think of JOY.