3 Ways to Cultivate Joy when You’re Struggling in Life

It had been the longest winter of my life – the winter of counting down the weeks, the days, and the hours until my health returned.  I spent it mostly staring at the dead landscape out the sliding glass door – beige earth folded under ribbons of grey sky that felt dismal and bleak.  I’d been trying to cultivate joy by looking to the future, but the discouragement of my illness was like a black cloud blurring my view.

You might not be stuck on the couch with a long stretch of illness, but I imagine you have your own brand of discouragement lingering low.

Discouraging seasons take all shapes and forms: stress on the home-front or job-front, relationship struggles, health scares, global pandemics, grief, and so much more.

We were just beginning to see glimpses of my return to health when we made the drive north at the end of that long winter.  I was still functioning at less than fifty-percent of my usual vitality.  There would be more days of struggling to simply put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward.

I was in the thick of sleepless nights, missing out on family events, and longing for the life I once knew.  But something powerful happened when I scraped myself off the couch and made the trip to the woods.

To keep reading this post about how to cultivate joy, join me at my friend Hadassah’s blog by clicking here.

Or if you want to get right to it, join me right here for a free online devotional.  My gift to you is my free 20-day devotional Rays of Light for the Dark Days.  This devotional offers inspiration and practical encouragement to help you through life’s trials. It is yours by clicking here.