Noticing the bright spots

Over the years, I've used the term "bright spots" to describe the little joys sprinkled in amongst regular life, especially when regular life feels heavy. In seasons of grief or hardship, I have made it a habit to look for those bright spots, because in doing so, life quite literally feels lighter.

Without going into specifics, we have had some heavy things we are going through in our family, and there have been many hard days. Life can feel extremely difficult and discouraging and there can be so much evidence of God's goodness and His work in our family's life.

Here are some of those bright spots, sorted by category (because when you start to look, there are so many!)

My boys:

Arlo's giggles, his ever-expanding vocabulary, and the way he blows kisses now
Seeing the growth and sweetness of the friendships between all my boys
inside jokes with Nicholas that we still laugh about days later
Watercolor painting with Cooper! I find it incredibly relaxing and it's our special thing to do together. Sometimes we freehand paint, and sometimes we watch a little YouTube tutorial.
a finished hand-drawn USA map, by Cooper! We used this Draw the USA book that guides even young kids how to draw the states one by one. Fun and useful for learning US geography basics, and Cooper is so proud of his map.
single blooms, picked just for me
A baby who loves to sleep on his daddy
Finn's love of puzzles, all day, everyday

For me, personally:

The Sing Daily Devotional, from the Worship Initiative. It's a daily singing devotional and it has brought me so much encouragement and joy and worship to my weekdays
I got a new haircut after my longest stretch between cuts (ever?) and I feel like a new person. I went to a new stylist and was thrilled with how she cut and styled it.
Knitting on springy DK-weight 2x2 ribbed socks. Between the happy speckles in the yarn and the DK-weight yarn, these are delightful to work on. I am also working through a pair of sock-weight gradient socks (can you tell what color I'm reaching for lately?)
Purity coffee, freshly ground, and brewed with our V60 pour over (I add grass-fed collagen powder, buoy electrolytes, and a splash of organic half and half). I can honestly say that coffee at home is one of my favorite things.

In the kitchen:

We celebrated Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday! My SIL, Katelyn, was in town and we hosted Easter brunch with an egg casserole, bacon, sourdough biscuits, and lots of fresh fruit. We also did an egg hunt where most of the eggs were filled with Bible verses, and a few were filled with simple treats.
sourdough cardamom knots (truly a labor of love, but absolutely worth it)

Outside and/or with friends:

The boys wanted to play outside on a sunny day, and I wanted to make a homemade electrolyte drink (recipe via @thrivewithcandicee on IG). So I opted for juicing all the citrus outside! We all did what we needed and wanted to do in the sunshine. There was less mess and it was delightful.
Enjoying nature programs from a local county parks department. We've held lambs and baby goats on a heritage farm, searched for wildflowers on a hike, learned about native edible plants and foraging, and spent a lot of time outside exploring some (new to us) parks.
Meeting dear friends at a local park for the kids to play and for the moms to enjoy the best snack board and life catch up. I brought some sourdough bread, and my friend Kathleen (the true heroine) packed a tablecloth, Izzes, and so many fun treats. The boys ran around and played and we all admired the daffodils that were blooming.

I don't always share my thoughts on difficult things. I mull over things, and I am still learning how to listen for the Holy Spirit's prompting to pray. I don't always know how to adequately speak into this world's heaviness (or heaviness in my own life). But it's here in this space, where I can tell you that there is a God who pursues you, and you can follow Him with your whole life. He is One who will shoulder the burdens of this life, and give joy, despite the circumstances or hardship. He is no stranger to the heaviness in this world. In fact, He sent His own son here to pursue us and to die for us, while we were still sinners.

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Psalm 68:19

So I am going to abide in His love. And all the while, I will choose to notice the daffodils, citrus fruit in the sun, the laughter between three little boys, the feeling of being so well known and loved by a friend, and feeling cared for by my husband. I will delight in a homemade treat that took time and attention, the feeling of yarn running through my hands as I knit it into fabric, a warm mug of coffee in hand, and a wildflower picked by a four-year-old. And as I delight in these things, these bright spots, may I find the most delight in the Creator of them, the one who daily bears our burdens.