Mom Heart Moments #280

This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I AM A FAN OF THE GRAND GESTURE and am pretty sure I could sacrifice my life for a cause —rescuing someone from some dire circumstances or being martyred for my faith. That seems grand and noble! It is the long-haul, day-after-day faithfulness, the years and months and days of mundane service, that test my spirit. I am not naturally a sit-still-and-work-hard type.

And so, to survive the mundane with some grace, I have learned to place small pleasures in my day. Every morning when I awaken and sneak down the stairs, I light a fire in my fireplace and candles around the room and put on some music, just for me. It pleases my heart to sit in a dark room, early in the morning, with candlelight and music and a fire shimmering.

This is why I also enjoy a one-woman teatime every afternoon, always taking some time to do something that I enjoy, whether reading a favorite magazine or book or watching a quick clip from a movie while munching dark chocolate sea salt almonds.

When my children were driving me crazy from being inside for too long, I would sometimes stop what we were doing and load them into the car and take them all to a bookstore, a park, a garden store, an ice cream shop, or somewhere else they could run and explore, just so I could breathe.

God showed me over many years that I am responsible for crafting a life in which I can last long-term with joy, so I can maintain the ideals I have established for myself.

It is not a luxury; it is a necessity. After all, God is the One who made color, beauty, music, stories, and food for our pleasure. It is in incarnating His fullness that my life can be lived well.

Today, do at least one thing that brings a little pleasure to your soul to celebrate life.