JOY

I am reading A Circle of Quiet by Madelein L'Engle. I loved Two-Part Invention so much that I wanted to read the entire series. That was the 4th in the 4 book series. This it the first. There is a particular quote that I want to share that is so lovely and profound. I hope it touches you. When she was very unhappy she had to go to a party and a woman came up to her and said "You're a very happy person, aren't you?" " I had, at that point, legitimate reason to be miserable. But her question had stopped me in my tracks. I looked at her in surprise and gratitude and said, 'Yes. I am.' This was ten years ago. But the answer is still the same. The better word, of course, is joy, because it doesn't have anything to do with pain, physical or spiritual. I have been wholly in joy when I have been in pain-childbirth is the obvious example. Joy is what has made the pain bearable and, in the end, creative rather than destructive."