Joy, Joy, Joy Boxes!

What is a joy box? It is simply a box to keep mementos of your memories in; it is place to keep track of what has brought you joy over the years.

I was introduced to Joy Boxes when I was a teenager. I made my mine in youth group at my church in ID. One day Jenna, our youth Pastor’s wife, brought in poster board and other craft supplies for the girls to create Joy Boxes. We made boxes out of the poster board then used stamps, and other craft supplies to decorate the boxes. I have had my Joy Box ever since and it brings me joy just seeing it. It’s moved with me, several times, so it’s tattered and worn, but it is filled, literally to the brim, with memories from my teen years.

I went through my Joy Box the other night for the first time in a while. It is filled with pictures, old letters from friends, concert tickets, sand from the Great Salt Lake (that’s in a baggie), a huge jaw breaker (trust me, I will never eat it again…lol), a little thing of Smucker’s jam (also not eating that), and so many other things.

While looking through everything I started reading some of the old letters. I found some that were filled with secrets that I am supposed to take to my grave, some of the letters were novels and one even made me cry. LOL Reading the old letters made me realize that I have lost touch with some of my friends over the years. I plan on changing that very soon!

Aside from reading old letters, I found 4 note cards that I had written to myself. They were written during a time in my life when I was battling with bitterness and running from my problems. It was interesting to look back 10 years and remember where I was and then see how far I have come since then, it kind of felt like I was in one of the “Back to the Future” movies. It’s amazing to see all that has changed and it helped me realize just how great life is right now.

When I graduated from High School, I made a Joy Boxes for 2 of my best friends. Some of my 101 goals are about Joy Boxes. I want to make myself a new Joy Box, since mine is tattered. Once I have a new one, I want to update mine since there are so many new joys in my life, and I want to make a Joy Box for at least one other friend.

I really believe that Joy Boxes are worth having. I think it’s ok to hold onto some of your old junk that has sentimental value, as long as you keep it to a minimum and don’t end up on Hoarders. I don’t get mine out very often but when I do my joy is renewed with the simple memories from my past.

I hope that my little blog post will inspire you to create your own joy box, if you haven’t already. If you have one, I hope you will open it up and reminisce. They are definitely a tangible reminder of all that has happened over the years and sometimes we just need to see the mementos to have the memories come flooding back. Personally, I believe that everyone needs to jog their memories of the good times, we need to remember the struggles that we have overcome, and we all need a renewed joy to be able to see the potential in our future.