I grew up with 5 brothers. My parents say that after having the first three boys, it was such a “joy” to get a girl, they named me Joy. Really, I know that they tell me that, because they want me to feel special. That’s just the way they are. They want all of their children to feel special and they always let us know how much we are loved. I used to wonder a lot about the name Joy and always felt a certain amount of pressure to be joyful. Like it was an assignment or calling. Something required, if you were named Joy. I have since changed my view. After struggling through a difficult time in my life years ago, I came upon a concept that I had heard many times in my life, but hadn’t quite grasped it. We all go through tough times, things we don’t want to deal with in life. That is part of the earthly experience. What I learned is this, no one (except God) can stop us from being hurt. And we would never choose to have the hard things happen to us. But we can choose how long we continue thinking about the pain after it is over. We attain Joy by choosing it!!! We are in charge of our happiness. I know it’s sad that it took me this long to realize this. But more importantly for me is, that I know now that my parents named me Joy, because God knew that I would need a reminder through out my life to be happy. I choose Joy! And I am grateful that my parents were so inspired to give me such a special name.