life isn’t lived in the butterflies
Hey friends!!
There is something awfully sweet & reassuring about feeling comfortable. Whether in your own skin, with people, or while working and doing daily life. Comfortable to be unashamedly yourself. To show your quirks, strange habits, your breath-holding-tears-rolling-laugh. Sweet connections often include comfortable, enjoyable, & humble acknowledgement of one another & wide open arms response to the good & the bad. Some of my favorite people embody this sentiment well, loving me through each season of life & spurring me on to love & serve Christ. I love that with these people we can feel peace in sharing & showing the hard parts of our stories… the joy & the sadness & the boring parts too.
Life is not lived in the moments of giddiness or butterflies and the “roller coaster” feelings in your stomach. I don’t believe relationships or decisions should be built around those fleeting thoughts and feelings either. I don’t think we produce our best work from these temporary things. Stable jobs don’t tend to simultaneously thrill us with excitement. Lasting relationships don’t generally stem from shallow connection. Big life decisions aren’t usually made out of a moment of sadness or happiness.
Life is often lived in the days of working, fatigue, sweet dinners, slow coffee mornings, frustrated days where everything goes wrong, movie nights, sick days, playing outside with the kids, sharing funny stories, working side by side, & moving through life serving the Lord in whatever He has for you today.
Where do fleeting or temporary feelings come from?
Where do fleeting or surface level emotions & feelings take you anyways?
Are these thoughts/emotions/feelings stemming from insecurity, fear, excitement, change? Whether good or bad, none of these things don’t really last. Insecurity is only relevant when you place your worth in other’s opinions. Sometimes you realize you didn’t need to be fearful, or you are brave enough to do the hard thing. Excitement ebbs and flows. Change in itself it a fleeting season of difference. With time, everything changes.
In reality all these butterfly thoughts don’t last. They may give you some happiness or momentary satisfaction, but usually not much more. True joy is found only in the Lord, & we get to look for ways to honor him through conscious choices & hard work.
I’m not trying to live a life of butterflies that leaves the daily mundane lacking, or has no foundation.
So, I try to not make any decisions out of butterflies either.
Why do we make the choices we make? Don’t get me wrong, God has blessed us with people who give us advice or wisdom. And in that, we are also called to be discerning. Are you grounding your advice, encouragement, & motivation in Christ & Christ alone? Are you turning back to the Word & spending time in prayer about how the Lord is working in your life?
10 “Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.” Galatians 1:10
I am learning how to grow & best serve the Lord, & continuing to grow a little bit at a time. Sometimes, I make my decisions based off what someone tells me I should do. Sometimes, I am motivated by doing something that will make me more well liked or the popular idea. These aren’t always wrong or sin issues, but they don’t typically lead to great places.
Maybe take a moment and consider…are your motivations or drive to do things rooted in pleasing people or what we perceive would be liked by people? Or, are your decisions & motivations & relationships standing in truth & honesty of what God is calling us to today?
Thanks for reading! Leaving you with a final sentiment - today the almost 2 year old I cared for me smiled for a photo & told me, “I gotta a lot a joy!!” as she held fistfulls of chalk. Ah if only I approached life with this much joy - I hope this moment made you smile as it did for me.