Mindset Monday: "Enjoy Every Moment" is a Myth - Do This Instead
A different approach when it feels impossible to enjoy every moment of parenting or life...
If I’m honest, the last few months have been some of my least favorite. When it comes to parenting, we are supposed to “enjoy every moment,” but when one of your teens is in the fight of their life with their mental health, it’s pretty hard to enjoy those moments.
It’s unrealistic to enjoy every moment in parenting or life. Here’s what I’m doing instead:
Savor Meaningful Moments: I’m savoring the moments that surface, like the one pictured on the patio, reading with some of my kids. It wasn’t planned, but when we all realized we all have summer books we are enjoying, we created an impromptu book club out of it. It wasn’t a month, a day, or “every moment,” but it was one moment that was worth savoring. We read our own books together, and then each shared about what we read and our favorite line. I dove into that special moment. When those moments surface, I’m learning to lean into them like an invitation from the Holy Spirit.
Plan Fun Memories: It’s not enough to wait for meaningful moments to surface in hard seasons, so I’m going out of my way to create them. I am plotting fun on the calendar, buying tickets to future events, and planning a girls’ trip with my sister. Life is going to keep life-ing, but I can’t let it steal my joy or pull me under. It takes intentionality, but sometimes a little fun and laughter are just what you need to come up for air during a hard season.
Express Gratitude For The Small Things: Once a day, I take time to sit on the patio and write in my prayer journal. It’s a sacred 30 minutes that gives me a chance to align my heart with God and thank Him. I try to express gratitude for the smallest things that I might otherwise overlook in a tough and busy season; the way the birds sing, the feeling of the sun on my skin, and the way my child hugged me that week. This practice helps bring me back to the present, calms my racing mind, and helps me find joy in the little things (when the big things feel hard).
I’m letting go of the myth of enjoying every moment, but I’m finding freedom in savoring meaningful moments, intentionally planning fun memories, and expressing gratitude for the little things.
What helps you enjoy life during hard seasons?
Quote 💬
“Real, God-imbued happiness is not the absence of sadness or badness. Rather, it is hanging on to the truth of His sovereign goodness regardless of what’s going on within or around us.” Lisa Harper
What I’m Reading 📚
📗For My Mind:
Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect
📕For My Body:
Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer from People Who Lived the Longest
📘For My Spirit:
Learning to Speak God from Scratch: Why Sacred Words Are Vanishing--and How We Can Revive Them
📙For My Soul:
The Women: A novel by Kristin Hannah, an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.
Fun & Favorites 🎉
I enjoyed hearing a different side of Jefferson Fisher in this interview. 🎙️
I use this feature of Google Maps ALL. THE. TIME. It’s a helpful way to make lists of restaurants I want to visit (saved in “Want To Go”). If I love it when I visit, I save it in “Favorites” and add a note of what dish I enjoyed. ✅
Summer meal on repeat. 🥘
Me in every work-related conversation right now… 🤣
Questions 🧭
How do you find moments of joy in hard seasons?
Melissa, thank you for sharing! I am fighting a huge battle since last year and it's so difficult. Hard to find a tiny bit of joy at times. I go to the park for a few hours and do some walking even though it's difficult (chronic pain), listen to the birds, pray, do some reading. I like books by Thich Nhat Hanh and Pema Chodron. Wishing your family healing and joy.