There are days when it’s difficult to see things in a positive light, when clouds are gray and gloomy, traffic is bad, there are crying children in the store, and you have an unbearable headache. I have a list of my favorite things that I remind myself of on these days. Everything is my favorite, it just depends on the day.
If I am having oatmeal for breakfast, I am so happy that I have cinnamon and raisins, because they are my favorite. If I am having yogurt I am so happy when I have fruit for my vanilla Greek yogurt because that is my favorite. I love sunny days when everything is bright and beautiful, and I love the energy of thunderstorms when the earth is getting needed rain.
I love Spring, it’s my favorite season because of peonies and lilacs, the world turning green, the amazing miracle of rebirth and seeing baby goats and baby cows in the pastures, the gangly fawns with their sedate mothers, planting vegetables and flowers, all the promise of a fresh start. Next month is my favorite season, I love Summer, with hot lazy days, trips to the lake, cookouts, motorcycle rides, the sound of bug zappers, ice cream, picnics, and fireworks, and harvesting and canning the summer’s bounty of vegetables. Fall, when it starts, is my favorite season, the crisp nights, the smell of leaves and their changing colors, pulling out sweaters, and preparation for Winter, which is really my favorite with the world all covered in frosty white, big pots of delicious homemade soup simmer on the stove, trekking through deep snow with a frozen nose and warming before a fireplace with hot chocolate.
I tell my daughter she is my favorite child, and never to tell her brother that, I tell my son he is my favorite and never to tell his sister. All of my nieces and nephews are my favorite, every birthday I have had was my favorite, and every family holiday is my favorite as well.
I don’t want to sound like a Pollyanna, but there are similarities I suppose. There are times I need to remind myself that the Lord chastens those He loves, and that trials are given to those He believes can handle it. I have a plaque in my living room that’s a quote from Mother Theresa, “I always know God won’t give me more than I can handle but sometimes I wish He didn’t trust me so much,” which, yes, is one of my favorites. If nothing else the fact that God thinks I am this tough is quite a compliment, even as I pray for strength, patience and fortitude.
Having hard times allows us to appreciate all the little things, and when our lives improve we need to remember these simple pleasures. The laughter of children, the smell of fresh-cut grass, the warmth of a wood fire, the beauty of a sunset, a poem, or a song. There are silver linings, many people miss them because sometimes they were already there. When one door closes a window opens somewhere, sometimes we have to look, but it’s there. My window is being able to share a lifetime of love for the written word.
When you truly allow yourself to see the beauty in small things, and enjoy your favorite things that arise in every situation, which they will, then you will not have bad days. You may have bad moments, but they won’t last. Enjoy all of life’s opportunities, and lives life to it’s fullest by always enjoying your favorite things.
About the author:MamaSteph has 2 kids by birth and several by love, she is a nurse and enjoys finding healthier ways to make comfort foods, gardening, enjoying nature, and living life to the fullest…For a list of her blogs please click here
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