Wasteland. This word best describes the thoughts that came to mind as I entered Joplin, Missouri. Whole houses razed to the ground, leaving behind nothing but pink insulation and wood that had begun rotting. Roads covered in snapped tree limbs and outlined by cars, some of which had been completely flatted. This catastrophe, caused by an EF5 category tornado, left thousands with little to nothing left. The mission Acton Baptist Church and I carried, would be aiding construction and relief to the people of Joplin.
Work started early in the morning. Jason, my youth sponsor, assigned a few other guys and I to start cutting and piling broken tree limbs. I became aggravated at first, thinking my task was pointless. Right then, a man drove by, saw us working, and pulled his truck over. The guys and I looked at each other wondering who this could be, and what he might ask us. The man greeted us, asking where we came from. “We’re from Acton Baptist Church, that’s in Texas” I said to him. Hearing this got him excited for some reason unknown to us at the time. He then got back in his truck and left in a hurry. We laughed a little at the randomness of the man’s arrival, then went back to moving limbs. Later that same night I saw the same man again, and gave me something that genuinely changed my outlook on life.
At the local church the youth group stayed, one of few places that still stood, I saw the man. He came up to me and introduced himself as James. James and I talked for close to an hour. During our time together, I found that James lived next to the lot where I’d worked. There was not a single house standing there. At that moment it hit me, this man lost everything he had. Once I made the connection, an ardent feeling came over me. How could this man, who had lost everything he’d owned, still have the joy he possessed? After pondering a moment, ending without a plausible answer, I asked him directly where his joyful spirit came from. His response has since been a major focus of my own life. “My joy has never been based on my possessions. The source of my joy is God and myself. I’m alive and have been given the freedom to conduct myself in a way that pleases the Lord.”
  From James’ words, I established a definition of Joy to serve as a model and guide for my outlook off life. Joy should not be associated in any way, shape, or form with worldly processions. Joy must come from God, and the spiritual possessions he has allowed me to own. Life is too unpredictable to live for only myself, therefore I should live for a greater purpose. That purpose to glorify my God. If I can live a life in such a manner, joy will come naturally.