What You’ll Hear in this Episode
Yesterday was Easter Sunday and so we had all our children and grandchildren and my mom over for a celebration.
We have 14 grandchildren – 12 of them under the age of 7.
You know how you struggle with loud kids? Well, they don’t get quieter when they’re grown – only louder! So add 13 adults to those 14 grandchildren and you can probably hear us down the street.
Anyway, we don’t have a big house – it was on the small size for 7 children – a gathering for 27 makes it feel teeny tiny.
We had some issues preparing for the gathering with trying to find the right time for all the families – they all have their schedules and for some, if we skip naptime, the kids are a complete meltdown.
Is it Worth It?
Cleaning the home, preparing the meal, finding enough chairs for everyone – there’s always lots to consider, some places we stress about, and sometimes the – “Is this worth it” feeling.
But then everyone came. And the children were joyful and interesting, and loved the newness of the day and the attention they felt with the egg hunt, our family prayer, and the good food.
We had some power struggles with the 3 yr old boys – we always do because that’s what 3 yr old boys do.
We had some spilled cups because the 1 yr old likes to climb up onto the table when no one is looking.
We also had the sneaky 2 yr old who found his bag of candy and started biting through the wrapper while he hid under grandpa’s desk.
We had poopy diapers, slight meltdowns, and crying because they didn’t finish their meal so they didn’t get cake.
But when they all left and we closed the door behind the last family we felt blessed. We enjoyed the day and we felt a little more bonded as a family.
Balancing the Stress of Family Life
Many families go through stress – some heartache when their whole family gathers. Between preparations or issues with family dynamics or strained relationships, almost all families have some negative emotional issues they need to deal with when gathering.
But we can decide how we come away from any event – especially family events.
We can focus on the negative and the controversies, or we can let go of the difficult times and focus on the positive parts of the day.
Whether we know it or not, we can control our happiness.
Deciding our Feelings
I have known people who struggle with cancer for many years, and yet they’re happy.
I have witnessed people lose a child and while still working through grief, they are at peace – not angry, despondent or withdrawn.
There are the poor who have nothing much materially, but they have joy.
Some of the happiest, most joyful people I know are the elderly.
They struggle with pains and illness, fear of forgetting or losing their independence and still they are joyful.
WE are the only ones who decide if we have interior peace.
How we look at the circumstances of our lives decides if we will be at peace or negative and unhappy.
If we choose joy, the hard parts won’t have control over us. We’ll simply live them with an interior peace – but we have to make up our mind to do so.
For some, it is easier than others – but it is never impossible for anyone.
Choosing Peace
Once you begin choosing your thoughts, you’ll be amazed at how unimportant most contradictions are.
You’ll decide that you choose to be happy and be at peace. It doesn’t mean that you live your life in a cloud.
You attend to the hard parts of life, but they don’t control you and your mood.
I hope your Easter day was filled with the joy of the resurrection and the peace of Christ.
Look back on the day and choose the joyful moments and don’t let any negative moments take that away.
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