When You’re Struggling to Cherish Life
Last week, a friend asked how I was navigating life with three kids. I told her I hadn’t slept more than one consecutive hour since little Aiden arrived. I was honest about the chaos and the constantness of this lovely little life we’ve created for ourselves. She smiled and said something about how I should cherish life in this season.
She had good intentions.
It just felt like she wasn’t hearing me.
A day later, standing by the sliding glass door as the Yellow Poplar flower petals flutter to the deck, all I can see is a mess that will need to be swept from the muddy beams so that little feet don’t track the hundreds of flowers into the house.
I’m sure these are the moments my friend was alluding to. Sadly, her idealistic maxims hold little weight in the aftermath of a newborn squawking all night and less than three hours of sleep. (Read here if this is you, too.)
When It’s Hard to Cherish Life
I’ve been trying to cherish these days of summer.
When I’m honest, there are plenty of moments that are anything but storybook memories.
Don’t we all know what it is to wake up and promise God that we will be joyful, content, and thankful in every moment of the day, only to come unraveled 30 minutes later over long lines of traffic blocking the way to the day’s assignment?
Don’t we all know what it is to commit to love the people in front of us, only to walk into the workplace and face a critical word from a competitive coworker, a discouraging word from a supervisor, or a dissatisfied message from a client?
When Cherishing Life Feels Too Idealistic
Today, this word, cherish, is just a little too trite for my actual life. It’s a little too idealistic.
Maybe you’ve read words about cherishing your moments and rolled your eyes, too.
It seems that the people who write such admonitions don’t know what it is to suffer. They don’t know what it is to step into the hard parts of our lives.
Yet here is what I’ve learned: When I struggle to cherish my moments, it’s time to stand on promises that are always true, regardless of my circumstances.
And here by the deck, I open my daily reading plan, and I read these words:
Oh let those who fear the Lord say,
“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”
From my distress I called upon the Lord;
The Lord answered me and set me in a large place. Psalm 118:4-5
These words offer truth for the moments when I can’t seem to find anything to cherish:
1. When it’s hard to cherish life, I begin by thanking God for his unchanging nature and lovingkindness.
In the original language, the word lovingkindness can be translated to love in action. God is always demonstrating his love in action. When the rains of life come, he is there showing his love in action.
When the season wears long, he is there showing his love in action.
Every time the bottom falls out, he is there showing his love in action.
We can always find something to cherish because God is always pursuing us with love. He invites us to pause, look up, and see his hand working.
2. When it’s hard to cherish life, we call up on God.
This verse tells us to call upon God in times of distress.
This takes discipline. We resist the pull to mindlessly scroll through social media, binge-watch a Netflix series, or lose ourselves in shopping, eating, drinking, or other unhealthy escapist patterns.
We cling to the promise that the Lord hears us when we cry out to him.
Even when we don’t sense his response, we trust that he is near.
When it's hard to cherish your life, just find one moment to cherish. #cherish #faith #joy Share on X3. When it’s hard to cherish life, we trust God to put us in a spacious place in his perfect timing.
In the original language, the spacious place is figurative for freedom from stress and anxiety. The spacious place is more than a wide-open field with wildflowers and open skies.
It is a safe haven where God’s Spirit covers me and offers an invitation to step out of my worldly cares and into his rest. It is my choice to either cast off the cares or to cling to the false sense of control that tells me I am responsible for my own sense of peace and rest.
God wants to lead his children to the spacious place of rest, a place where we are able to cherish our moments. Until you find his rest, keep pursuing him and trusting him. He will not let you down.
~~~
And so, I leave the fallen tulips scattered on the deck. I pour an extra cup of black coffee to make it through the morning, and I extend the same grace to myself as my Father offers me.
This extension of grace to myself feels like the beginning of a new way to cherish these moments, regardless of my shifting circumstances. I might not be able to cherish every moment of this day, but I can find fleeting moments to enjoy.
I can watch the flower petals fall onto the deck.
I can smile as the children splash in the creek.
We can eat lunch on the deck and blow bubbles and make memories.
Every moment won’t be perfect. But we can find fleeting moments to cherish.
You can, too. Ask the Lord to help you. He is waiting.
Calling All Parents (and Grandparents)!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
Attention All Boy Moms (and Dads)!
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
These Books Are Free on Kindle Unlimited: God Wants to Heal, Restore, and Refresh You
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. He also wants to help you establish a rhythm of meeting with him daily as you trust him with the hard parts of your life. Click here to explore two books that will guide you: Be Still and Trust and Lean Into Grace. They are free on the Kindle Unlimited program and for sale in print.
Download Your Free Devotional Here
Set Free: Let God Do What You Cannot explores ten realms in which most of us need God to work in our lives and bring deliverance. We’ll talk about finding freedom from fear, worry, insecurity, bad habits, emotional pain, and more. This short online devotional will bless you as you let God accomplish what you’ve been unable to achieve through willpower. Get your download for free with promo code GRACE or for a donation of 3.99 right here.
I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
