Thursday, May 19, 2016

Persevering and Choosing Joy on the Hard Days


The past few weeks have been filled with a lot of hard days. A "good day" is when I am able to be out of bed for four or five hours, but even on the good days, I often struggle to move. My body feels like it is on its last drop of energy, and everything I do is a physical challenge. Sometimes I wonder how my muscles are even moving because they are so tired it feels like it shouldn't be possible.

My body is tired, and my mind is tired, but I want to persevere. I want to keep on keeping on when life is hard. I want to choose joy not just on the good days, but on the bad days too. Here are some things I have intentionally been doing lately as I seek to persevere and choose joy:

Reading through Job and Psalms. I am working on reading through the Bible this year, and it "just so happens" that I recently finished the book of Job and am now reading in Psalms. It has been perfect timing, and the words of Scripture have encouraged and strengthened my heart.

Praying daily. I often ask God to help me be "joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12).

Listening to music that encourages me to persevere. I have a playlist with some of my favorite songs that I like to listen to while resting in bed.

Putting on lotion that smells good. I have recently been wearing Peppermint Spice body butter on my hands. It smells like Christmas and the outdoors and happiness all rolled into one. And it was made by my friend, Dorina. I can't help but smile when I wear this!

Enjoying Dandelions. Wildflowers from my daughter are a sweet reminder to find love and beauty where there are weeds.

Sitting by the fire pit. This is homebound camping at its finest! I really miss camping, but being able to sit by a fire in my backyard was such a treat. It wore me out so much that after 2 hours I had to go inside and take a nap! But the picnic, fire, and time with my family was delightful.

Appreciating the extra time to crochet. After finishing my scarf, I made fingerless gloves with the leftover yarn. Now I am working on a baby sweater, bonnet, and booties to enter at the county fair this summer. If I wasn't struggling with brain fog I would have been spending a lot of my recent time writing instead. The brain fog has been a blessing because it has forced me to spend more time crocheting, which is something I love to do.


How about you? What are you struggling with currently? And how are you choosing joy and persevering? Let's share our ideas and encourage one another today!

Keep on keeping on, sweet friend! Or, as my friend Elizabeth often tells me, "KOKO!"

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