Looking at this picture closely, you can see completely different looks! Some more subdued. Some are curious. And then there's that vibrant little girl, in gray towards the back, that has an all out smile! Joy is all over her face!
It's not easy to be joyful, but Margaret Feinberg wrote something that I needed to hear and maybe you would enjoy it too.
"Joy is a gift we can offer even when we don’t possess it ourselves.
When we give it away freely, something mysterious happens: Joy multiplies.
Jesus says, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38).
I always thought of the container as something external we hold as we watch it being filled, pressed down, shaken, and filled up more. I never considered that we are the containers. God fills us.
One of the best ways to receive joy is to give joy.
Like me, you may not always feel like it--especially this holiday season. The day you need joy most may be the one you want to offer it the least.
Give anyway and give generously.
Take the leap.
Slip a grumpy store clerk a kind word of thanks. Give that friend who’s always down on herself a compliment. Flash a smile to strangers who seem to be having a hard day. Drop off a surprise bouquet. Send a card. Hand out a balloon. Offer a five-second hug. Then wait to see what kind of fruit these seeds of joy bear.
As you pour joy into others, joy will be poured into you."
God bless you and fill you with His joy and peace!