Thursday, June 23, 2022

Joy Moments in the Every Day

 


By: Donna Bucher

“Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” 

Psalm 150:6

 

Working in hospice and palliative care often reminds me of the brevity of life. Facilitating a life review is one of the ways we bring comfort to the dying patient and family. Everyone finds solace in a life well-lived; believing you made a difference by leaving your footprint on this earth.

 

These life reviews, often painful, always poignant contain ordinary moments made extraordinary by the passing of time. Most contain a hunger for more of the moments I often rush through or barely acknowledge. More time lingering outdoors in nature, watching a sunrise/sunset, more hugs, playing that "one, more, game" with their little ones, longer gazes at loved ones, saying and hearing "I love you" more. In short, "celebrating joy moments in the every day."

 

My pursuit of joy, like a crazy scavenger hunt, offered no clarity for the object of my search, but I was sure I failed in finding it. Each discovery gave me a moment of Joy, only to send me back to the chase for something bigger and better.

 

All of which predictably left me disillusioned and dissatisfied. Until during a recent prayer time seeking God for the missing "joy" nugget I expected, He asked me a question which brought me up short. Simply put:

 

 "Why search far and wide for something right in front of your eyes?"

 

After the question dawned in my heart, a picture of Christmas morning many years ago when my children opened gifts, vividly danced through my mind. Each child ripped through wrapping paper, briefly glanced at the unwrapped gift, tossed it aside and reached for the next package. Finally all the unopened gifts sat strewn across the living room, viewed by disappointed faces; no more gifts to unwrap.

 

In a way, this picture equaled my Joy Journey: seeking, grasping, glancing and setting aside, continually looking for "more", when my life stood strewn with joys barely acknowledged, much less cherished. Ashamed, I looked around and listened for joy's lesson in celebrating joy moments in the every day.

 

When praise and gratitude mingle with the everyday moments, we find Joy in their midst.

 

Simple pleasures like my "girls" as I call them, bless me with their love, hugs, smiles and time on a regular basis. Delighting in my youngest daughter, and her little girl’s place in my life, their unique personalities, and accomplishments offers me a privilege neither deserved nor promised.

The joy of playing with my little Grace and watching her grow fills my eyes with tears. Walking with my daughter as she single parents her little love with both gentleness and determination delights my heart on even the hardest days.

 

Spending time in my garden truly brings me joy, if I spend time in my garden. Instead I often choose chores, soaking in discontent, or again, simply rushing past it on the search for something better.

 

Celebrating joy in the ordinary moments requires eyes desiring to see and ears to hear, especially in the garden.

 

God’s voice speaks clear, gentle and true in the garden like nowhere else. Perhaps because in the first garden He initiated intimate fellowship with man; or perhaps because His Presence echoes beautiful through His creation.

 

My greatest joy comes in the everyday moments with my God. He steps into every moment of my day. Significant, mundane, fraught with anxiety, or pillaged with trial, these ordinary moments strung together equal my life, and He abides faithful within them.

 

Celebrating Joy in the ordinary moments transforms even painful moments into an altar of gratitude.

Like an intricately woven garment of infinite splendor, Joy and gratitude abide as one. Inseparable, they profoundly conform our soul's image to that of Christ through the most mundane of moments.

Truly hungering for a deeper understanding and experience of Joy, compels me forward in my journey. But the recent pause to treasure the abundance of Joy moments present in the everyday, beckons me to a slower pace. For the joy found in ordinary moments contains God's gift of Himself.

 











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1 comment:

  1. What a precious reminder this is, Donna, to not rush through life, but rather to use the eyes and ears (both physical and spiritual) to appreciate and enjoy the fact that He is indeed in every moment of our lives. Thank you. 💜💚

    ReplyDelete

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