4 Stages of Happy

Happy Easter!

(Read Below for the Happiness Level of this topic)

This morning in church our parish was blessed by having Deacon Brandon join us for the mass.  I know Deacon Brandon as just Brandon as when I was in high school he was my youth minister.  AWESOME person!  Brandon is finishing up his schooling for the priesthood in a month or so and will be ordained to become a priest on June 22nd, entirely exciting, my husband, my son, and I will be there!  Deacon Brandon read the Gospel this morning as well as did our Homily (his homilies are AMAZING!)  His homily this morning was on the 4 stages of Happiness and again he pulled on my heart strings.

Brandon stated the 1st stage of happiness is quick happiness.  Something that makes you happy for about an hour and when its over you're not happy anymore, very short term.  He gave the example of going out to eat and having a large juicy steak, it made you happy to eat it at that moment but by morning no longer satisfied you making you happy or going to Target and buying that new DVD or a pair of shoes, instant gratification, and its gone by the time you get home.

Then the second stage Brandon mentioned was something you've worked towards that reaps a reward such as working towards a promotion, practicing all season long to win a state championship.  This happiness may last about a month or so but eventually wears off and you're back to where you were.

The third stage of happiness is volunteering.  Sharing your time with someone in need.  This stage of happiness lasts longer then the previous stages but when you decided that's if I've done everything to be happy about, you're still not happy.

The fourth and final stage of happiness is the only life fulfilling happiness that there is.  In each of our hearts we have an empty tomb like the one Jesus was placed in after he died on the cross and its empty and we feel empty because we are only focusing on those 3 previous stages of happiness.  Once we open the tomb to God and ask him to join us in our journey and walk with him on this journey will we be ultimately happy.  Brandon mentioned yes, we will still have pain and suffering and hardships, but essentially we will be happy, because we are walking with God.

Thank you Deacon Brandon for your homily this morning!
I do believe that I am truly in the fourth and final stage of happiness, which is great that I'm here at 27 years of age, I can enjoy this stage of happiness until God takes me home.  I asked God into my life a very long time ago and yes, there have been trials and tribulations, pain and suffering, and its been journey, but God has blessed my husband and I with a child who is still growing inside of me.  I'm not afraid of the pain and potential suffering I may endure giving birth because I know God will not give me more pain than I can handle.  I plan on having a natural child birth with no pain meds.  I'm not scared because I know HE will be with me.  I ask God every night before I go to bed and every other time of the day I pray for a safe, uneventful natural birth in which both myself and my son do well in the process.  I don't tell God what needs to be done, I ask.  Ask and you shall receive.

My thought process and attitudes towards all kinds of areas in my life are changing ever so much to be more in line with walking with God.  I'm seeing things in a whole new perspective, I'm understanding the changes, and they are so simplistic.  Like earlier at the dinner table we were talking about the lottery and everyone was stating that a million dollars really isn't that much money.  Then I piped up and stated, "a million dollars is more then enough, its too much."  I don't care to win a million dollars so I don't buy lottery tickets or gamble.  I'm pretty positive that's not the life God wanted me to live.  And winning the lottery is stage one happiness.  Sure I could pay off our house which was less than $50,000 (no joke), I'm content with our house.  I would pay off my car loan to my father, not much left less than $3000.  My husband's car is almost paid off, we don't have any credit card debt.  I would save about $14k for my son's elementary education as we plan on sending him to Catholic School.  I'd save another $100k or so for his college education if that's what he wanted to do.  I'd buy my husband a new vehicle because he needs one, but it wouldn't be something that cost as much as our house brand new, that's ridiculous.  I'd maybe find him a good, used Chevy Trailblazer or something along those lines.  I'd buy the house next door, tear it down along with garage because they need to be torn down, have a triple size lot, fence it all in, plant a big garden to feed my family, maybe sell some of our produce.

I'm guessing I'd have money left over but I guess I'd save it, I'd probably make a large donation to our church, and find some specialist somewhere that might be able to fix my step dad's eyes, or maybe fly him to the Holy Land so he can bath his entire body in the Holy waters and perhaps be healed.  I might buy my grandparents a small home of their own where they wanted it, perhaps on the same property where they currently live that's uncluttered, clean, warm, with someone to help take of them as they are in their late 80s and have worked HARD their entire life.  My grandfather has been a dairy farmer his whole life and my grandmother has worked along side of him, they had 11 children, have about 30 grandchildren and just as many great grand children.  I have an aunt and an uncle who never left home and bought the dairy farm from my grandparents and they run the farm now.  My grandfather keeps telling us he'll retire and well, he can't help himself.

But I don't need a million dollars.  I'm already happy, life will be happier when I can hold my son in my arms vs my uterus.  I told my mom yesterday that I understand now her happiness and why every year since I can remember I'd ask her for Christmas, Birthday, Mother's Day what she would like.  The answer has been the same every year, "nothing."  There is nothing I WANT more then to hold my son and be his mom.  I don't want a million dollars, I don't want a new house or a new car or a $500 shopping spree at Target (honestly I don't know what I'd buy, now that I've switched to homemade natural cleaners and such).  I am happy because I am following God and he is intertwined in every aspect of my life.

My mom says, "Christmas is the Promise, Easter is the Proof".  So I wish to all of you a HAPPY Easter!