The Secret To True Joy

This is me at Disney World with my favorite Disney character of all time. Baymax. I waited in line for 2 hours just to get 2 minutes with him and Hiro. As you can tell from this photo, it was SO worth it. The smile of pure joy on my face is priceless making this picture famous among my family members. 

I think about that day a lot and how fun and special it was to me. And then I randomly thought about the other teenagers I see at Disney all the time when I go. Me and my family love Disney and we go several times a year which has given me a lot of time to study other people there. Most teenagers I see don't even smile. They stand there in the happiest place on earth with their hands in their pockets or holding their phones checking Instagram. And I think, "What are you doing? You're standing in the most magical place on the planet!" 

When I go to Disney World, its always the best day or days of my life! I wear Disney attire, I watch the parades, I skip around, I wave at characters walking by, I smile the entire day, and I don't even care about my phone. The heat of Florida and the sea of crowds don't even bother me slightly. And I used to think, "Its because its Disney World! Everyone loves Disney!" But then I realized I was wrong when I saw all the other teenagers on their phones all day while whining and complaining about small things. 

They don't have joy like I do. Sure, I really do love Disney and I believe God gave me that too! But those other teens at Disney can't enjoy it like I can because they don't know Jesus.

Without a relationship with Him, Disney is an empty place, just another theme park. But with Jesus, Disney really does come to life. That may sound silly, but I know it to be true. And this realization I had has been confirmed several times in my lifetime.

One time, during a trip to Disney World with my youth group from church,we were all in line for Splash Mountain. We came up with a super cool idea to high five and cheer for the people that passed by us in the Fastpass line. All 100 of the kids in my youth group would cheer loudly and high five every single Fastpass person that went by and those families loved it.One young man stopped and asked a kid in my youth group, "Why are you guys so happy and excited?" The kid replied, "Because we have Jesus!"

It really is true. Life is so much happier and better with Jesus in your life. The world is trying so hard to find the key to being truly happy without God. I'm sorry but it doesn't work. Popularity or fame won't make you happy, instead it will only make you more insecure. Having a girlfriend or boyfriend gets boring really quickly. Nothing man made can bring us the joy we desire. Only Jesus can.

So now when I go to Disney, I understand why it makes me so happy. I have Jesus in my heart and he died for me so that I may know him personally and he has removed my sin so I may have eternal life with him. Just like my last post about God sightings, I see God through Disney even though that may sound silly. He knows Disney is my favorite place and he wants me to enjoy it and have fun. He loves when I laugh and smile and because I have him in my heart I know that he has washed me clean of my sin and saved me from eternal death. So therefore I have a level of joy that people without Jesus cannot receive and I have true happiness that will last. 

To conclude, this is a poem I wrote for school in 7th grade about happiness. I believe that God wanted me to write it at the age of 12 so that I could share it with you today:

Happiness. It's like a feeling some people cannot explain. That special moment when your heart jumps for joy and your eyes twinkle. It usually happens when something special happens to you, like when you get a compliment or gift. But for me, it's different. I am happy, because I have the joy of the Lord in my heart which some people don't have.Their happiness is not forever. But mine is eternal.