Choosing joy in times of grief

Quick disclaimer, this is more of a personal post and a bit of an update.....

Back at the end of October my little family and I were going to take a trip to Orlando, to meet up with some of my family and to have a magical time at Disney. All the things (for the most part) were planned out to have an awesome time, but as we all know....things don't always go according to plan…..

The day after we got to Orlando, my parents got the call that my papaw (my last remaining grandparent) was not doing well at all. My parents left to be with him. After talking to the rest of the family, we all decided together that the rest of us would stay in Florida and keep the vacation as normal as possible for our little girls.

Unfortunately, my papaw passed away a few days later.

Of course, there were times with tears, and I know that the sadness of missing him will always be there, but I also know that my papaw...along with all of my other grandparents want my family and I to choose joy in all things.

I'm not sure if they realized it or not, but they were a big example to us on choosing joy. They certainly weren't the richest or had the best things, but they were content....and that is key!

Choosing to be happy with all that God has blessed you with...even through hard times.

It's so easy to get caught up in all the bad things that happen to us, all the things we wish we had or all the things we wish we could change....but many times the most important thing we can change is how to react to things in our life. This is one of the keys to living with intention…. recognizing what is in and out of our control, seeking the joy and react in the best way possible.

Instead of focusing on the negative, start looking for any and every positive that is around you. I promise....it's there, you just have to choose to see it.

Yes...I still find myself missing my papaw, and that will never change, but I Choose Joy... I choose to be thankful for all the time we had with him, all the times he would play the guitar and sing that silly preacher and a bear song because he knew I loved it. I chose to remember the good times: every Christmas spent at their house, every time playing ball out in their yard, the time that in his upper 80s he got a plastic chair down from the attic and cleaned it up just so my daughter could use it.

I choose to do what I was blessed to see him, my other grandparent and my parents do....not getting caught up in the hard times but choosing to trust God, and be thankful for all the blessing that he has given us.