I just returned home with a car full of flowers. To say I am in my happy place is an understatement. I love this time of year when the weather warms up and the greenhouses open. I’m not sure my husband feels the same as I leave the house with the checkbook and a checklist of all the flowers I want to buy.
I love all of it. Digging in the dirt. Aching muscles from shoveling and weeding. Planting new buds knowing they will mature and grow into beautiful flowers that will brighten my home and the home of friends. Every spring I look forward to kneeling in my garden and getting to work.
And as I kneel, I feel closer to the God who created heaven and earth. I feel centered. Peaceful. Joyful. Because in this annual dance of preparing the ground and planting, I find balance. I am doing something that blesses me and connects me to my true self. The self that is just “being.” Not doing for someone. Not planning for something. Just being in a place and activity that replenishes me. There is a childlike giddiness that arises in me as I dig and plant. An anticipation that this joyful work will reward me for months to come.
I was just talking with a friend who shared that they are, once again, struggling with work/life balance. The demands of their job, the conflicts of co-parenting with an ex-spouse, and the pressures of volunteer commitments are draining and stressful. I reminded my friend that you cannot pour from an empty vessel. Sadly, for so many of us, filling our vessel seems selfish and brings guilt rather than joy.
God didn’t create us to be frazzled and buried under the weight of self and worldly-imposed deadlines and expectations. He created His children to be filled with life and light and to share that with those around us. But to do that, we must first make time to feel the light on our faces and pour into ourselves.
For some, gardening would be torture. I get that. But God has not only gifted each of us with talents, He has also given us a heart that is drawn to certain activities. Maybe it is taking a walk. Maybe visiting the park and feeding the ducks. Maybe mountain biking. Maybe sitting on a porch swing reading a book. Maybe it’s dancing. Maybe it is building something with your hands. Maybe playing with your grandbabies. We all have those things that make us giddy. And somewhere along the journey to and in adulthood, we have lost that childlike ability to just be overcome with joy.
I believe when we are in those moments, those times when we feel that inner joy and fulfillment, we are closest to our Creator. We are filling our soul with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit as we feed ourselves. We are not designed to live a life of drudgery. We are not created to walk around cloaked in the weight of expectations. We are made to live. To enjoy. To celebrate.
My guiding verse for Simply J.O.Y. is John 15:11 – “I have told you these things so my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” Jesus found His own deep joy in communion with God His Father. In this verse, “may be complete” is the Greek, plēroō, a verb meaning to make full, amply supplied.
I believe when we are engaged in activities that bring us pure joy, we are in communion with our Father in Heaven. In the quiet, there is room for Jesus. When our hearts and minds are uncluttered and open, there is room for Jesus. When the demands of the world are set aside, there is room for Jesus.
It isn’t complicated. It is the simple things. The things that bring us into relationship with others. That connect us to nature and the majesty God created. The joy in serving and helping others. None require an ivy-league education or vast amounts of money. They simply require our time and commitment to “be.” To be fully present in the moment. To be fully aware of the experience. To be fully mindful of the presence of God.
I am a doer. If you want something accomplished or organized, I’m your girl. I understand, better than some I suspect, the challenge of being still. Not only is it difficult for me to stop moving, it is even more difficult for me to turn off my brain. Like most things, it is a work in progress.
What God has shown me is that in those quiet moments, those moments of leaning into the person He created me to be, I am complete. When I shut down my brain and open my heart. When I put my hands to work on things that bring me joy. When my brain engages in praise and worship amid the planting of bulbs and turning of soil, I get a taste of Heaven. A taste of the peace and pure joy that awaits each of God’s children.
And I am reminded that God doesn’t intend us to “do time” while on earth waiting to get to Heaven. We wants us to experience, create, and share Heaven on earth. For me, that’s one snapdragon at a time.
I encourage you this week to make time to do something that brings you joy. Something that comes naturally to you and replenishes your soul.
This week’s accompanying prayer can be found at https://simplyjoy.online/prayers/contentment-prayers/give-me-joy
Happy you have found your joy.