With two kids ages two and under, I had a choice to make. 

When my son joined our family a few years ago, I was working full time, we had an infant and a toddler, and we had just moved. Multiply that by household chores, sleeping, working, and family commitments and there’s not much time left in that math equation for breathing. I had a choice to make every day: Find myself in what brings me joy or lose myself by not making it a priority.

When I don’t make the time for what brings me joy, I become a crabby wife, a grumpy mom, and a strung-out co-worker. (Just me, right?) That’s not fair for the people in my life, and also not fun for me. I subconsciously put blame on others for not giving me space. 

In that season of two kids two and under, I chose to find myself, over and over again each day (or at least tried to). Most days it was less than 10 minutes. I kept something around that made me feel like me. At the time, it was reading books and writing. The 10 minutes a day I was able to keep myself in helped me continue down this path of writing now. During that time, it didn’t feel radical. To be honest, it felt choppy and clunky. But overtime, when my season of life slowly shifted, I had more opportunities to find myself in bigger and different ways.

Once we find ourselves that joy can spill over into other areas of our lives. We can be confident in what brings us happiness instead of playing the comparison game. We can take bigger steps in pursuing passions, even if they are amateur hobbies. We can know that these things are worth fighting for to put in our days. We can find contentment and happiness, merely by doing something we enjoy. We in turn are happier spouses, calmer parents, confident workers, and bold believers. 

Making the time to do things you enjoy isn’t selfish. Once we are thriving in enjoyment of how God made us, we become a blessing to others. Our households, church, and communities are byproducts of our joy. Walking in how God made us, can have small ripples that impact in amazing ways throughout our lives and the lives of those around us.

Imagine feeling so confident in how you are made. Imagine finding fulfillment with God and your time that you get all the confidence you need. I know that when we are doing what have been wired to enjoy our Father is looking on us with great joy.

Just like a parent sees a child delighting in what they love, how much more does God love to see us enjoy things? With God as our Father, we are sons and daughters. When we know who we are, we can’t help but feel fulfilled, confident, and secure. With this knowledge we can move ahead in life confidently knowing how we are built and why. 

What makes you feel like you? What brings you joy? Maybe it’s decorating, building, exercising, or teaching. I hope you find cooking, learning, dancing or sewing. I hope you volunteer for your church or local non-profit with passion and delight. I hope you don’t hold back from enjoying a hobby. I hope you don’t hold back because you never tried something before. 

My hope is each day you are a step closer to knowing what brings you joy and finding ways in your life to be that person everyday (or at least try to). When we find enjoyment in life, it brings more than happiness to ourselves. It brings us peace knowing we no longer need to compare ourselves to what someone else’s fulfillment looks likes. It eventually will spill over into the lives of our family, our workplace, and our community in beautiful ways. And it brings God joy looking down and watching us delight in how we have been made.