I’ve been on a journey this year to look for the lovely. To find beauty in the little things around me. I need to see the lovely, especially in this painful and heartbroken world. I need it in my heart. And I need to see the good so that I can keep going. Seeking out the lovely and actively pursuing it has been eye-opening. I’m happier, more mindful, and joyful each day. Instead of allowing all the little things I HAVE to do overwhelm me, I have been trying to shift my perspective. It’s not things that I HAVE to do. It’s things that I GET to do. It’s a joy and blessing to serve my children every day, even when we’ve had two straight weeks of snow days and I’m about to loose my mind. I look for the lovely: I get to stay home with my kids instead of driving on icy roads to work. I get to stay in my pajamas all day. I get to make brownies for lunch. So many sweet and simple things.
I’m doing the Looking for Lovely Bible study by Annie F. Downs with some other moms from church, so I can’t take credit for the title of this blog post. But I highly recommend this study. In it she says “there’s a correlation, I’m finding, between beauty and perseverance, between looking for lovely and not giving up. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it? Its’ not just in the things that everyone sees, but it’s what you see, what sticks out to you, the unique moments that God gives you to collect and hold and draw strength from during the difficult times.”
I’m not really suffering a difficult time in my life, but this season I’m in of raising small children is challenging. I’ve never worked so hard in my life. But I’ve also never seen SO much lovely in my entire life either. Each day is filled with lovely gifts. A giggle. A joke. A kiss. Sticky hands. Cute pigtails. Learning a new word. Watching my girls play together. Watching Hudson cut tiny hearts out of paper and carefully color them before giving them away to his sisters.
So I guess I’m just here to say that if you are in a busy season of mommy-ing like I am. I see you. I want to encourage you to find the lovely in each day. I need it. And you need it too.
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I am so happy that you are able to see that while this is a challenging season of your life it is also a beautiful and joyful time. You are a wonderful mother and your children are precious. This time will pass so quickly that you must strive to enjoy every minute. I am proud of you!