Where Does Joy Come From?

We got back from our camping trip tonight and we were all tired. We had a great time and it was really nice to be together all weekend. I didn't have very high expectations for this evening. I expected we would unpack, do laundry, take very overdue baths, and rest. Not terribly exciting.

Then, while my daughters and I were eating supper I said something funny. It was a mistake actually, but the wrong word came out of my mouth and it made a funny sentence. We all just cracked up. I mean the kind of laughter where you almost can't breathe! It was so cool to laugh that hard with my girls. That kind of moment doesn't happen that often where everyone thinks the joke is funny. No polite laughter--just snorting, falling out of the chair funny.

It got me to thinking...where does joy come from? I know it's a fruit of the Spirit, so that tells me it comes from God. Surely there are unsaved people who experience joy. The world's wisdom would tell us that some people are just more prone to joy because of their personality type. Children certainly seem more joyful than most adults I know. I've always heard that joy and happiness are not exactly the same thing. How do you get joy? What do you do if you want more joy in your life?

I don't have any answers--it's just what I'm thinking about tonight. Guess I'll study up on this later!