Happiness Doesn't Depend On Your Circumstances

"Forever—is composed of Nows" (like this sunset the other night).

I often ponder the purpose of my life, and ask myself "how can I be deeply happy?" Today I was reminded that happiness doesn't depend on your circumstances, it depends on your heart.

Visiting Julie

I visited a friend today (I'll call her Julie) who is happy; truly happy. She invited me over to her home today for lunch.

Her home is humble, Julie's mother lives in their small apartment with them, and her daughter sleeps in the living room. Julie is thrilled to get a vacuum and braces for Christmas.

She lives to serve her family and others. She opens her home to friends and cooks them lunch several days a week. She is always bringing me gifts, texting me about how kind I am and about how beautiful my children are. She is full of selflesness and contentment. Every time I see Julie she is smiling. She pays attention to others; I was in awe at how she patiently took her daughter aside to teach her how to share.

Julie's Mother

Julie's mother is also full of joy. Julie's mother isn't able to read or write, but she can draw. She expresses many things through her simple drawings.

Her flowers have light emanating from them because they reflect God's love for us. She drew pe

ople in a chain upside down and then a reflection with them right-side up, symbolizing how when we are depressed, or have feelings of anger or hurt we are "upside down." If we go to Christ He will make our lives full of joy and happiness.

She is a great example of magnifying her talents and unabashedly sharing her testimony with others.

The "Simple Equation"

Happiness doesn't depend on your money, possessions, or circumstances. Julie told me about her sister who has two homes and is very well off financially; she is remodeling her home right now and Julie is driving across a couple of states to help her sister remodel. My friend said "my sister who has a lot of money is depressed; I am poor but I am happy." To her, it was a simple equation.

Advice from Great-Aunt Rose

These lessons from today reminded me of a story I heard recently about a young girl whose mother was having surgery, so she was sent to her Great-Aunt Rose's home for the summer. Her Great-Aunt Rose wasn't married and had lived alone for years; but Great-Aunt Rose had found happiness. She taught Eva these principles:

“There is enough that doesn’t go right in life, so anyone can work themselves into a puddle of pessimism and a mess of melancholy. But I know people who, even when things don’t work out, focus on the wonders and miracles of life. These folks are the happiest people I know.”

“But,” Eva said, “you can’t just flip a switch and go from sad to happy.”

“No, perhaps not,” Aunt Rose smiled gently, “but God didn’t design us to be sad. He created us to have joy! So if we trust Him, He will help us to notice the good, bright, hopeful things of life. And sure enough, the world will become brighter. No, it doesn’t happen instantly, but honestly, how many good things do? Seems to me that the best things, like homemade bread or orange marmalade, take patience and work.”

How Can I be Happy Now?

“Dear child, now is part of eternity. It doesn’t only begin after we die! Faith and hope will open your eyes to the happiness that is placed before you.“I know a poem that says, ‘Forever—is composed of Nows.’ I didn’t want my forever to be composed of dark and fearful ‘Nows.’ And I didn’t want to live in the gloom of a bunker, gritting my teeth, closing my eyes, and resentfully enduring to the bitter end. Faith gave me the hope I needed to live joyfully now!”

“So what did you do then?” Eva asked.“I exercised faith in God’s promises by filling my life with meaningful things. I went to school. I got an education. That led me to a career that I loved.”

Eva thought about this for a moment and said, “But surely being busy isn’t what made you happy. There are a lot of busy people who aren’t happy.”

“How can you be so wise for someone so young?” Aunt Rose asked. “You’re absolutely right. And most of those busy, unhappy people have forgotten the one thing that matters most in all the world—the thing Jesus said is the heart of His gospel.”

“And what is that?” Eva asked.

“It is love—the pure love of Christ,” Rose said. “You see, everything else in the gospel—all the shoulds and the musts and the thou shalts —lead to love. When we love God, we want to serve Him. We want to be like Him. When we love our neighbors, we stop thinking so much about our own problems and help others to solve theirs.”