Do you have trouble finding joy when life serves you with hard things?
The secret to finding joy in “the middle places” is something I am learning on repeat.
You don’t have to be a widow to know life comes with challenges and even heartache.
And while we don’t get to choose what life throws our way, how we respond to it is up to us.
If you’ve listened to the Seek and Savor podcast you know that choosing what are our hearts and minds seek out and savor can change everything. It can change how we feel. how we act, and how we move forward.
One thing God is using to change me is reminding me where my focus should be… In the present.
By lifting up my eyes to the simple joys of today and savoring their sweetness, it keeps me from the worry of tomorrow. Is staying in the present difficult for you? You are gonna want to keep reading.
Here is a sneak peek into how I seek and savor.
There is something healing about digging my hands into the dough, in stretching and pulling and dusting and scoring. In offering my family nourishment for their bodies I remind my heart that there is joy in serving and offering. What helps you find joy in the everyday tasks required of you, beloved?
Watching my grands play with and love each other reminds me of the eternal love of God our Father. It presses me into prayer for their hearts and their future. Sometimes thinking of others lifts our hearts up and out, beyond ourselves.
Seeing their innocence reminds me that we have the opportunity to make a difference in this world by loving the ones God placed in our families.
I’m finding new ways to seek Christ.. His presence, His word, His voice. Sometimes it’s in the quiet morning time, my Bible open on my lap. Sometimes it’s on the road, letting my mind be washed as I listen to the Bible on audio. Other times it just being conscious that He goes with me wherever I go. I practice savoring what’s right in front of my eyes. I thank Him for the gift of it and how I feel His pleasure.
I take the picture. read oodles of books to the babies, pretend to be on a canoe in the middle of the ocean, sing in a silly voice, and clap with pride when they try something new. 
Dear friends, beauty is everywhere! It is there for the eye to behold. All we have to do is stop long enough to drink it in. We renew our minds with the Word and the treasure of His presence. Can’t see His presence. Look around you. His fingerprints are everywhere. Train your heart to rejoice in the small things.
Join us on this journey to SEEK and SAVOR and walk in joy! New episodes coming August 2024. Catch up on the already released episodes at the Seek and Savor podcast link above.