The Joy is in the Moments

On days like today the sunshine screams at me. “Come out,” it yells. Come out of your house. Leave your laundry, your disaster of a house. Leave your design work, calling obligations, bill paying. Come out, feel my warmth on your face, let grass squeeze in between your toes and be happy.

And so I did. The girls have had ear infections and respiratory issues so we’ve had to stay in a lot lately. Lately meaning the past 6 months. Not to mention the horrifically eternal winter that has been our treat this year. I packed the girls up and off we went to enjoy the Tulips at Thanksgiving Point Gardens.

We laid down on the grass and ate a picnic, played duck duck goose, saw and smelled hundreds of tulips, and gazed into the clouds. We saw the shapes in the clouds and then played a game where Hailey and I would take turns making up part of the story that went with that shape. She saw a wizard and we made up a grand tale of a princess rescuing a wizard who drank the wrong potion.

Recently M. Russell Ballard said, "...recognize that the joy in motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction." He then goes on to quote Anna Quindlen,

"...the biggest mistake I made as a parent is the one that most of us make... I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photgraphs... I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: Dinner, Bath, Book, Bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."

I am guilty of this, but the beauty is that I can stop it now. My kids are still babies. I just need a reminder every once in awhile. Life looked at as a whole can be overwhelming and discouraging- especially motherhood. Truly, I have found that the secret of happiness is finding the joyful moments in life. Praise God, today was full of them.