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When I was a kid, I took piano lessons. I wanted so bad to do well. Mostly because my older sister played beautifully. But my fingers were never as graceful on the piano keys as hers, probably due to the vast difference in the time spent practicing.
Recently though I’ve been re-learning to play piano via an app. Some of it is familiar from those lessons 30 years ago. But one thing that is new is the JOY that it brings me. I really love it! I look forward to it each day. And once I start, the time passes so quickly and I don’t want to stop. And there are so few of those things in life.
A couple of years ago, some long time friends of my parents made a comment that my son Finn was just like me as a child. And when I asked how, they said he was always looking to have fun. And when I thought about it, I was the same thing, even beyond my childhood and into early adulthood.
I was recently listening to Annie F. Downs speak about fun. (You can check her out at www.anniefdowns.com) She said that JOY is the emotion and fun is the action. And we don’t always feel the JOY. But if you choose fun, JOY will follow.
As Christians, we know that JOY comes from being in the presence of the LORD. And I believe we can also find JOY in earthly gifts that God has given us. For me, I find that JOY in nature, or in a song, or in laughter.
What about you? What brings you JOY? Annie F. Downs recommends you ask yourself, “What brought you joy as a child?” Start there.
Galatians 5:22–23 says that JOY is a fruit of the spirit. It says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”