happy, happy, joy, joy

Do you know the difference between happiness and joy?

Here's how I understand it (let's see if I really can write this at 12:09 in the morning):
Happiness is a feeling depending on your circumstances and environment.
Joy is the deep down knowledge that no matter what, everything's going to be okay.
And as a Christian, true JOY is knowing that no matter what happens in this life, everything is going to be okay because God is in control and has provided us with an incredible gift of salvation.  Nothing is greater than that gift.  Having that knowledge in the forefront or back of my mind gives me a joy that never ends. 

Having joy does not mean that I'm going to be super excited about the nail polish spilled on the bathroom floor (nail polish now lives on the highest shelf in the closet).  Having joy does not mean that I'm going to be happy to find cat vomit on my family room floor.  Having joy does not mean that I am going to smile every time I find flip flops in the middle of the room instead of in the shoe basket where they belong.  No, none of that elicits happiness either!

But my joy is not dependent on my situation, on my environment, or on how great my day has been.  My true joy is constantly underlying - it is from God. 

KC

(And yes, I know that "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy" is from that ridiculous cartoon, Ren and Stimpy and NO, I never watched it.  I think someone I know might have just sang me the song once upon a time and it stuck!)