Joy is a fruit of the Spirit that can only flourish when we are utterly convinced that our lives are held within the hands of our loving Father. We must believe with every fiber of our being that nothing can touch us without His consent and that He only allows what can bring about abundant good fruit.
Joy is a supernatural gift from the Holy Spirit, one of the fruits, an outpouring of God’s love. When I experience joy, I have an up-lifting of my entire being to God, my heart is overflowing with His love, and it flows out to those around me.
What does it mean to be a life-long member of this religious family? It means that we strive to know and love each other as we are. Not as we think we should be, not as we hope we would be, but simply as we are.