Going after true happiness

In New York City, there are eight million cats and eleven million dogs. New York City is basically just concrete and steel, so when you have a pet in New York City and it dies, you can't just go out in the back yard and bury it. The city authorities decided that for $50 they would dispose of your deceased pet for you.

One lady was enterprising. She thought, I can render a service to people in the city and save them money. She placed an ad in the newspaper that said, "When your pet dies, I will come and take care of the carcass for you for $25." This lady would go to the local Salvation Army and buy an old suitcase for two dollars. Then when someone would call about his or her pet, she would go to the home and put the deceased pet in the suitcase.

She would then take a ride on the subway, where there are thieves. She would set the suitcase down, and she would act like she wasn't watching. A thief would come by and steal her suitcase. She'd look up and say, "Wait. Stop. Thief." My guess is the people who stole those suitcases got a real surprise when they got home.

A lot of us are like those New York thieves. We're chasing after happiness, and we grab what we think will give us happiness; however, when we get it, it doesn't quite deliver.

Are you happy?

Where are you trying to find your happiness?

If you are like most people, you try to find your happiness in "happenings" or the circumstances of your life.

If things are going well at work - you are happy.

If things are going well in your marriage - you are happy.

If things are going well with your kids - you are happy.

But what happens if your job, your marriage and your kids are not doing well?

Happiness is an inside job.

We all want to be happy. It's just that we need to find our happiness in the right things.

And we must choose to be happy no matter what is "happening" in our lives.

Let's pray: "Father, we choose to be happy today, not because of what is happening to us, but because we know that you are in our lives and that true happiness comes from you."