What I Know Of Joy

"How many Christians do you know who are joyful?" my mom asked me the other day. "I should say, how many who go to church are joyful?"
That made me laugh. "Are you joyful?" I asked.
"I don't go to church; of course I'm joyful."
That amused me even more. Christians are apparently happier when quarantined. Who knew?
In Christian school I was taught that the word "Joy" was actually an acronym for "Jesus, Others, You." I was taught this by grumpy old ladies. It was a bit of a mixed message.
I've heard some preachers say that joy and happiness are not the same thing. Knowing what I know now, it kind of sounds like a cop-out.
In church as a child, we sang about trading our sorrows for the joy of the Lord. But the chorus, "Yes, Lord, yes, Lord, yes, yes, Lord," even then sounded like sex to me. I watched TV, I knew what it was supposed to sound like. This song still makes me very uncomfortable. I wonder how the Lord really gives us joy...After all, you can't spell "joy" without the "O."
I had heard once that the name Pocahontas meant "mischief and joy." I think the two often go together quite nicely, though I'm sure a lot of religious people I know would disagree.
I don't think I have ever known "the joy of the Lord," and I have my doubts as to whether such a thing even exists. What I know of joy is that I have had to learn to give myself joy, instead of praying for joy and waiting for it to show up. I believe that having joy is a skill that must be learned and practiced, every day, like any other skill.
Many people, often but not always religious people, are negative or critical and threaten to rob you of your joy, dragging you down to their black moods, even if they don't intend to. I try to avoid these people as much as possible. Life is very short, and there may be no eternity, after all.
I should ask my mother how many atheists she knows that are joyful. I like to think she knows at least one.

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