True Happiness 

   “And this is the happy life: to rejoice in you, of you, for you.  This is true joy and there is no other.” (St. Augustine, “The Confessions of St. Augustine”) 

   People spend a lifetime seeking joy and happiness in this world.  Far too often they look for it in all the wrong places.  True joy and happiness can only be found in God.

   We all want to be happy and to know joy in our lives.  God also wants that for us.  The problem comes when we hope to find happiness in worldly pleasures.  We were created to be happy, but to be happy we must know God.  We must recognize that all we have in this world comes to us through His love and generosity.  When we forget this, we will never know the happiness and joy God desires for us.

   More importantly than seeking happiness in this life however, is the happiness available to us in eternal life.  There again, that happiness can only be found in God.  No matter what we have in this life, it will all be gone when the Lord calls us home.   Our money and all our possessions will belong to someone else.  Any fame we may have known will quickly fade and our memory will fade with it.

   Parents want what is best for their children.  They want them to know happiness and enjoy life, being successful in their endeavors.  Our heavenly Father wants the same for us.  If we turn to Him, live for Him, and seek His will in our lives we will not only know happiness in this life, but also the eternal happiness of His heavenly kingdom.