JOY!

Part of the reason I started this blog was because it looked like fun--a creative outlet. And, I need to have more fun in life; I need to let my hair down (the teeny bit I have!?) a little more. This week, as I was studying my scriptures I was reading in my "BOM Reference Companion," and the writer posed a very good question: "What is the ultimate purpose of our existence?" I think there are lots of good answers to that. But, I think it all comes down to one easy, simple answer--Joy! (The gospel isn't supposed to be difficult or complicated to understand. It's simple; we make it hard!) The ultimate purpose of our existence is joy--joy now and joy later. How many times do we forget that we are here to be happy? The Lord wants us to be happy; He doesn't do things to us to make us unhappy. Things happen that make us unhappy, but how we respond to those experiences is our choice. I know we all know that, but for some reason to have someone state very simply that the ultimate purpose of our existence is joy, it made me realize some things I need to change in my own life. If I'm not happy, it's nobody else's fault, except mine--and I'm not fulfilling my purpose. And, what a simple purpose it is--just have joy!! How easy is that? And, how fun does that make life sound? I think it sounds awesome! Life is supposed to be fun! So, in order to feel joy I need to make it happen! He put me here to enJOY life. He wants nothing more than for me to enJOY the next life, and everything He does is to accomplish that purpose. So, my new goal is to take time to get more joy out of life--to slow down and enJOY the smell of the flowers a little longer, not just to notice them. I have a feeling life is going to get really, really fun!