Saturday, January 13, 2018

Seeing the Small Joys


by Beth Vogt @BethVogt 


I can spend my days so focused on the one big thing that I hope will ensure me happiness … fame … or accolades … or some sort of self-satisfaction that creates an “I’m enough” feeling — however fleeting …

Or I can gather the small joys that make up the every days of my life.
  • Laughter shared with friends
  • Hugs given so freely by my still-can’t-get-over-the-miracle-of-her GRANDgirl
  • A favorite song that I play over and over again because it draws me closer to God, reminding me who He is … and Whose I am
  • A too-brief phone call with a long-distance friend that refreshes my heart, mind, and soul
  • A sunrise … or sunset … or clear blue Colorado sky
  • The silence of the house in the middle of the night when I’m the only one awake, writing — pursuing my dream — while everyone else is asleep, dreaming
  • The noise of family filling my house up to overflowing — making memories

Is it wrong to pursue the one big thing? No, probably not. But how many times have we trampled the small joys — ignoring them in our haste to succeed?

In Your Words: What small joys did you discover in your week?  

TWEETABLES



Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” A women's fiction novelist with Tyndale House Publishers, Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, as well as a 2016 ACFW Carol Award Winner and a 2015 RITA® finalist. In 2016, she continued her destination wedding series published by Howard Books with  You Can’t Hurry Love (May) and Almost Like Being in Love (June). Visit Beth at  bethvogt.com.

10 comments:

  1. Blessings, Beth! The small joys are the best ones for our souls.

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    1. Good morning, Ingmar,
      I would have to agree with you that the small joys bless our souls in the best of ways.

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    1. Good morning, Marcia,
      May today overflow with the blessing of small joys!

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  3. The small joys in my week were Monday and Friday. School was closed for inclement weather (I teach), so I got to spend two unexpected days with my girls during their last week before going back to college to start spring semester. :)

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    1. Karen: Snow days are definitely small joys. I have a sign over my back door that states, "I <3 snow days." And your two snow days were doubly blessed.

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  5. Yesterday was sunny enough to go walking, and I discovered a new neighborhood lending library! Someone built one of those cute boxes with a door, mounted on a post, and set a bench next to it. I "checked out" Sue Monk Kidd's Invention of Wings :)

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  6. My blessings often come in watching sunrises and sunsets. This week with the frigid weather we've had, they have been beautiful. Also the reeds along the road - golden frosted in white ice crystals swaying with the wind - were one of my highlights.

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  7. Three small joys: Laughter as my daughters and I texted cross-eyed selfies one morning, my toddler grandson reaching out to me from his mama's arms, and Sunday night snuggles with The Hubs and a Hallmark movie.

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