It's not easy for her all the time. She and her husband and gaggle of children (can't remember how many, but a bunch) live on a pig farm in Canada. They milk cows and tend to sick pigs and harvest corn. She homeschools and makes homemade bread and cleans and does piles of laundry. And in the midst of all that, she documents sparkling laugther, freckled noses, full moons, glistening soap suds, healthy children and the presence of a loving God when children are not healthy.
It's really an amazing book. I haven't finished it. To tell you the truth, I can't read more than a few pages at a time without bursting into tears. I see myself in her weak moments. I'm frustrated by the dishes in the sink, but all I really have to do is change my perspective. How blessed am I that I have my family here to use those dishes! How blessed am I that we have food for the plates! And when bad things happen, how blessed am I to know there's a loving God there to lean on.
She says, "The holy grail of joy is not in some exotic location or some emotional mountain peak experience. The joy wonder could be here! Here, in the messy, piercing ache of now, joy might be--unbelievably--possible!" Joy is right where you are right now. All around you. Just look for it. The line that hit me like a ton of bricks in this book is, "The remedy is in the retina."
Habakkuk 3:18 (ESV) reads, "I will take joy." I needed this message so much recently that I made myself a little canvas to hang above my workspace upstairs. I love it. It brings me joy and reminds me where to look to find it. And now I made one as a little thank you note for one of my Facebook friends.
Thanks so much for being on this journey with me!
May the Lord bless you with 1000 gifts every day.
<3 Lori
Hi Lori! Fellow flyer here. I came over to see the new blog header and I love it. I can't wait to try this. This post is great, too - such a good message to see the joy and blessings in everyday. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi Lori. Sofia here from flying lessons. I love your new blog header. This is a beautiful message to share with all of us who just need to stop, breathe and pay attention to the joy surrounding us!
ReplyDeleteJoy. A favorite word. Well, one of many as you will see as we get to know each other better. Just wanted to stop in because we have chatted back and forth on the group page and I did stop by your FB fan page. So glad I came. Lovely banner.
ReplyDeletethank you Lori I real confirmation as to what is on my heart at this moment in time. Was just going to post on my blog over the weekend. Will add Hab 3 to my art journal.
ReplyDeleteThanks, everybody! I am so glad you dropped by. I kind of wish I had this message tattooed on my forehead backwards so that I could read it in the mirror. I NEED IT...Like NOW. :)
ReplyDelete<3 L