Protecting our joy

The attitude of a child weaned from its mother's breast is, according to Reverend Mother de Lescure, another way of protecting our joy. "The infant who is not yet weaned seeks always his mother's milk, but the infant weaned from her breast no longer desires anything. It is satisfied with whatever his mother does, content to be there where she leads him; the only thing necessary is for him to be near her.
The little Saint Therese makes this attitude clear by comparing it to a ball. Like her, let us be content in whatever circumstances Divine Providence places us. If Our Lord asks us to undergo greater sufferings let us be convinced that it is to deepen our hearts and expand them more in charity - in other words, He is enlarging the tumbler that the great St. Teresa used as an example to explain the happiness of heaven. But let us not forget that there are tumblers that hold a litre and others that never exceed a thimble-full. To enlarge our hearts nothing is better than sacrifice. The best attitude to take is doing everything in and for God....We must fight determinedly then against all that could be a source of trouble or sadness to us."

I think we have much to reflect on about how we protect our joy. More tomorrow. I guess I am more aware of the need to protect joy because of all the bad news I read in the newspaper, the stress here with all of us moving, and the sadness I feel in saying good-bye.