In his book "Surprised By Joy", CS Lewis points out that while we can pursue happiness all we like, joy often sneaks up on us when we are least expecting it.

The discovery of termites in our church building has precipitated a lot of urgent activity. Today, I found myself spending my day off doing things like screwing together some shelf units. This is not my choice of activities normally. I just do not enjoy woodwork or anything that involves constructing things.

At one point right in the thick of things, I was countersinking some holes I think, I found myself thinking "This is so cool. It's all going together so well."

That's joy. The circumstances of life don't matter so much as the knowledge that we are doing the thing we were created for and doing it well to the glory of God.

I will never be a carpenter, but I can still find joy in the process of doing simple tasks.