I do think God wants us to be happy, however, we must always remember we live in a fallen world. This is NOT our permanent home....we are only passing through. Our sights are set on heaven. I guess the way I get through things is I realize that if God intervened every time I asked for something, what would I need heaven for? There would be no need for heaven, because perfection could be achieved here. That does give me comfort and helps me make sense of all of this mess. Peace to you, Gordos!

Gordos, never feel that you are posting too often. We need one another.

The verses in the Bible, to me, are speaking to our love for the Lord. We are to make Jesus,our Savior, our everything. So much so in comparison it would seem like we hate the world and all earthly possessions. Nothing on our lives should compare to our relationship with our Lord or we make it a god and we are to have no gods before God.

In the Bible, we are commanded to rejoice always. Our joy does not mean happiness because happiness is depends on circumstances which change like the wind. Joy depends on Jesus who never changes. Joy is a commsndment and is our choice to make. Jesus wants to be all we need. He is enough.

May God give you more peaceful times as you had in church. It is so vital for our souls and well being.

Thank you both for your perspectives. It makes more sense now.

Yes, I reiterate what lindajoan has stated. The Bible clearly says we will have trouble in this world. We are not to be happy for the trouble, but we can rejoice that Jesus has overcome the world. We can rejoice that we have a God who loves us. We can rejoice that He is in control and we are not---thank goodness for that. We can rest knowing he makes all things good for those who love him. This does not mean He works things out the way we want, but he will bring something good out of a bad situation--we need to trust him for that.

Like gordos I've had a rather difficult week emotionally. but I think I'm over it now. Although these times of feeling the pain are not easy, I believe they are necessary in order for us to heal properly. We cannot push our feelings aside at all times. We need to go through the pain to get to the joy again, in a real way. If we go about our lives pretending to be happy, the pain will come out in other ways, often physically.

Sorrow may last for a night... but JOY comes with the morning. Be sorrowful, but allow God to bring you back to a place of joy.

Thank you Agrandmother

We also need to remember that God gave us these children to raise the best we can and then give them back to Him. As a mother, it is hard to let go of "mothering". Now we all need to allow our EC to find their own path and we need to enjoy the rest of our lives here on earth and seek each day what God's path is for us. It is hard.

We ALWAYS are to place God first!

You're welcome, gordos4.