Describe one habit that brings you joy.

When I was a little girl, I wanted a toy so badly. Every commercial for it, I wanted it. It was a Dancerina doll. Oh, that doll was my desire. My 5 year old heart craved that toy. Fast forward a couple of months and it was Christmas and Santa delivered Dancerina!

I was over the moon! The thing I desired was in my hand. All else was forgotten because I was being a ballerina with my Dancerina friend.

This became my favorite doll, even though she wasn’t soft to cuddle or sleep with. Soon, her batteries were dead. She lay motionless in my room. My desire had only made me happy for a short time. Even though I had begged for the doll in every store, every time I saw the commercial, every time I saw it period – I coveted that doll.

A month later it was my birthday. I got a camera, a 126 instamatic camera. (IYKYK) It came with 3 rolls of film and a few “flash cubes”. I became a photographer and no one was safe from my lens.

There is a photograph of my mother taking clothes off the line in mid March, wearing my dads flack jacket, her long hair blowing wildly in her face as she hurried to get them in before the rain started. My mother, of course hated the picture but my father loved it and told me that “I had a good eye”. I had no idea what that meant. Dancerina was no longer the favorite. She needed batteries. She couldn’t dance without them. By the time Christmas rolled around again, I had a new favorite.

As I get older, and somewhat wiser, I learned and understood that happiness is fleeting. That material things are temporary. The pursuit of happiness is folly. It brings a momentary thrill, the excitement, the anticipation of obtaining it; it’s as if it was empty promises.

I learned that true joy was actually simple. J O Y is, Jesus, Others, You. Putting God, and my relationship with Him, first, helps the rest of my life fall into place. Putting others before myself honors God and helping family, friends, or my community is good for my well being as well as theirs. Putting myself last does not mean that I give up on me, it doesn’t mean I let go. It means if I get my hair cut or colored, if I dress nicely, get my nails done, have nice things in my house; that it doesn’t mean I’m selfish. I

I know we have all seen those people who wear rags, who are filthy, with matted hair, but all the while, working hard in bereft villages to make sure they had basic needs met and to share their faith.

Putting my faith first, gives me true Joy. Taking care of me, making sure I look presentable, that I don’t smell, that my words would (hopefully) always be kind. And that I help, where I can, when prompted.

Joy cannot be found in relationships. They will be like a desired toy that is discarded when the desire is lost.

So the habit that brings me joy? That would be,

1) putting Jesus first above all else

2) putting others needs before my desires

3) putting myself, my desires, my wants, my ego, my pride all last so that I can truly show God’s love to my family, my friends, my community.

That is what brings me joy.