Joy in the Journey

Joy in the Journey

 

 

In the past I've heard a lot of people talk about "Joy in the Journey".  I've always tried to look for the good things- to have joy throughout life's phases.  But I've had a difficult time understanding how finding joy in the journey applies to hard times.  How is it possible to enjoy something that is so hard??....  Well, I think this is finally a lesson I've slowly learned.  I can easily relate to it with this analogy:

 

  I hate laundry!  I hate everything about it- I can never get caught up on it, it's everywhere, it haunts me daily!!  The funny thing is I LOVE, LOVE the laundry isle in the grocery store because of the smell.  One of these days I might just get a pillow out of the bedding isle and a book from the display case and park myself on the floor for hours in the laundry isle:)  Recently, I discovered Downy Un-stopables and they have become my Joy in the Journey for something I truly despise.  Although I don't enjoy doing laundry still, I do like to smell the clothes when they come out of the dryer.   I like the smell of my room with all the clean, folded clothes on my bed.   I like the smell of my laundry room.  I even like the smell outside my backdoor as the air exits my house from the dryer vent.  And I love to smell the scent on my kids when I give them a hug. I receive joy in the smell even though the laundry journey is still hard.  Laundry has just become a little more motivating to do:)  There are always small things we can enjoy to help endure the hard things.  

 

 

Last Sunday, we watched "17 Miracles" with our kids.  We try to watch a classic or an uplifting movie each Sunday, as well as play a family board game.  This was great show to teach them about our pioneer heritage.  My kids really loved counting each miracle they saw to reach the end result of the 17 miracles.  Although the trek was very hard for the pioneers, they still were able to see the Lord's hand- the miracles-the Joy in the Journey.   

 

A couple days ago a sweet friend sent me a message about one of my blog posts "Have Faith, Not Fear."  She has endured a very hard and long trial of sickness with no solid answers about what is going on or what can help her feel better.  She doesn't know how long this will go on or if it will even ever end.  I was so grateful to read her message, because it is so nice to know that although our trials are so different we can still relate and help each other out.  We can draw on each other's strengths in the gospel.  It also was a confirmation to the strong feeling I initially had when Kate was born that I needed to share Kate's story and my testimony.  It's never been easy for me to bear my testimony in public and I rarely share it.  I've always told myself "actions speak louder than words" and this is the way I've tried to share my testimony.  After Kate was born I pulled out my patriarchal blessing and re-read it.  There was a sentence that really hit me.  It talked about how I needed to share my testimony whenever I felt prompted to do so.  This came back to me repeatedly for many days until I finally got over my reluctance to share my blog.  Now I know that through words, not just actions, I am able to touch others lives.  It is important to verbally share our testimonies.  We can lift and strengthen one another by doing this.  

 

 I have thought a lot about this friend's message over the past few days- which led to my thoughts on finding Joy in the Journey.  I think one of the first things we struggle with when we go through trials is finding the faith (not fear) we need to get us through it.  I think the next step is to find the Joy in what we are going through- find the Downy (that makes it easier) and the 17 Miracles (that the Lord blesses us with).  I know that we go through trials to help us become stronger and better people.  Trials are not for us to duck our heads down and just survive- I believe there are always lessons to be learned, blessings to be recognized, things to be grateful for.  I am going to start a new post and share it at the end about the "# miracles" we have received through this journey.  We have already experienced so many!  All miracles ARE miracles no matter how big or small, the size doesn't matter.