find joy in the journey

​I lay in bed a little longer this morning. I try to do that when I have the boys; they aren't fans of beating the sun out of bed like I am.

Laying there, I sent a message to a friend - I said this week has felt heavy for some reason. No one thing to point at and say, there it is, there is the heaviness. Just some weeks feel that way I suppose.

I finally got up and I stumbled through the house looking for a light. We're staying at a beautiful little home my friend Stacy graciously opened up to us for a few days - so I'm in unfamilar morning territory.

I found a light switch. But before I could flip on the light, this message appeared to me on the wall just above the switch. It appeared slowly, like I was in some long drawn out scene in a movie.

Find joy in the journey.

Do you ever see something and feel like you're not looking at something but instead hearing it. Like you're not looking at morning art but instead you're suddenly in the middle of a morning conversation.

That's how I felt.

I always attribute that to God. There's always too much timing in those moments to ignore him as the speaker in those chats.

I heard God remind me this morning that often heaviness is us letting life come at us instead of us going at life. I heard a reminder that heaviness is sometimes a lack of joy, but that lack of joy isn't because joy isn't there, it's because we aren't actively seeking to find it.

I'm sitting here on a section of the couch where my youngest was giggling uncontrollably at a movie just 12 hours ago. I can feel the joy. I can actually take myself back there - by choice. That's the beautiful thing about memories - and in making them - they are a part of this life journey we can revisit - like a vacation.

I don't know if your life is light or heavy this morning. Either way, find joy in the journey. Make it a point today to stop and be reminded, we have an opportunity in every moment of this journey to find the joy.

I think that's the best defense against heaviness.