God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing. -C.S. Lewis
Why is it that my happiness so often hinges on what is going on around me? On my circumstances?
My mom aquired tickets to go to a concert tonight, and I was really looking forward to it. But then, we found out there might only be two tickets, so I might not be able to go. All of a sudden, I was sad. Extremely disappointed. I thought my day had been ruined.
Well, it turns out I can still go...we have enough tickets. So I'm fine again. But this isn't the first time this has happened. I get my hopes up about something...it lets me down...I'm unhappy. Or there is something in my life that isn't going right...I'm unhappy.
It's probably true for other people, too: our happiness depends on our circumstances. And maybe that's okay. After all, happiness is a feeling, and as humans, our feelings are fickle.
But joy, and peace, they aren't feelings. They are gifts from God. They are fruits of the spirit. They can be around in the midst of pain, in the midst of disappointment. But not by our own strength. Not by our own minds. Because like I said, human emotions are fickle, always changing, always blowing with the wind. But God never changes, and He is the only being in whom we can find peace and happiness. It exists in no other place.
So I guess what I'm saying is, circumstances will disappoint me. I'll get sad. I'll cry. But my joy and my peace will never have to diminish, because they are never changing, never failing, coming from a never changing and never failing God. It's something I'm working on, and will probably work on for my entire life: this whole thing of trusting God, coming to him for peace. But I'm getting better. I have found joy in hard things. I have found beauty in the ashes. I have seen myself begin to be refined from the fire into treasured gold. But not by myself; by God, because "God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
Love,
Erin
I want to write, but more than that, I want to bring out all sorts of things that lie buried deep in my heart. –Anne Frank
I often find that others can say things more eloquently than I can, more concisely, and more beautifully. Maybe that's why I'm such a lover of quotes: quotes say something I wish I could say, but I don't know how. I love the feeling of coming across a quote and saying, "Hey, that's what I think, too, and I didn't even know it!" And then it leads me to think about other things, and make connections. That's the reason for this blog: so I can expound upon a quote, add my own thoughts, and hopefully make you think, too. There will be humor; there will be seriousness. There will be quotes (Surprise!)
So to address the quote by Anne Frank...let me start by saying that I adore Anne Frank. I don't know why exactly, but I do. I've read her diary a few times, and each time I find something that I hadn't noticed before, something that I feel like I could've written, if I wrote as well as Anne. "I want to write, but more than that, I want to bring out all sorts of things that lie buried deep in my heart." I can be kind of quiet, kind of closed. It's hard for me to share things with people sometimes, so writing is a way of getting stuff out. Every night, I do my devotions, and that includes writing a letter to God in my prayer journal. I've filled more than ten journals, and looking back on them, I can see how I've grown and how God has answered prayers. By writing, I "bring out all sorts of things that lie buried deep in my heart." I share my deepest thoughts and dreams, my pain, my joy, my questions, and my answers. And although Anne wrote her book as a diary and I write mine as a letter to God, I think we have a lot of similarities. Our thoughts on paper are often deeper than those that we speak aloud. We have questions, and the way we view the world, the people around us, and even ourselves is changing drastically. We dream of being something when we grow up. And we both write, not for anyone else but ourselves, not for any reason but to understand what is in our hearts.
Maybe, reader, you will read Anne Frank's diary; I highly recommend it. And maybe, reader, you'll find that you aren't so different from her, either. That you aren't so different from me.
Love,
Erin
