Choosing Joy One Day at a Time

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” Proverbs 31:25

“What happened here?” I asked my boys while scanning the family room.

I had picked up the house before we went to bed, but by 10 a.m., it looked like a hurricane swept through. Breakfast was finished, but dishes were left out, milk spilt and “sort of” wiped up. My four sons pulled out every pillow and blanket they could find to make a fort in the family room.

I looked around at the messy house and felt overwhelmed.

Some thoughts that went through my head:

–       I’ll never have a clean house.

–       I feel depressed.

–       I can’t do this.

I gave myself about 60 seconds to feel that way, then I purposefully stopped myself. I chose to think different thoughts, and my mood immediately changed.

“I can’t do this” was replaced with: “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

“I feel depressed” was replaced with: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24 ESV).

“I’ll never have a clean house” was replaced with: “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean” (Proverbs 14:4 ESV). 

Sweet mom, all of us have children, messes just mean life is happening.

 

When I purposefully choose gratitude, I focus on the GOOD and my frustration turns to joy!

I look at the breakfast dishes and spills and think, “My kids aren’t hungry. They have food to eat!”

I look at the pile of pillows and blankets (aka “the fort”) in the family room and think, “My kids are creative. They are playing together!”

Motherhood is a journey; a hard but joy-filled journey in which your life isn’t your own anymore. It’s about choosing joy even with the mess, the noise, and the lack of free time.  It’s choosing gratitude when the enemy tries to make you think everything is bad.

 

I’m choosing joy one day at a time, sometimes one minute at a time.

Sweet sister, feeling stressed is a choice. Joy and gratitude are choices too! Choose well.

Here are some tips for finding joy in the mess of motherhood:

–       Write down 2-5 things you are grateful for and add to that each day. On a hard day, go back and look at all the things that make you smile.

–       Ask your kids what they are grateful for – they may surprise you and say something you hadn’t thought of.

–       Empower your children to help you around the house. 

–       Ask God for help. Ask for His wisdom and joy to fill you up

 

Blessings and Love,

Kathryn Egly & The Help Club Team

“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.” – Henri Nouwen

Kathryn Egly
Latest posts by Kathryn Egly (see all)

2 Comments on “Choosing Joy One Day at a Time”

Leave a Reply to Deb Weakly Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload the CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.