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I hope your summer days have been filled with FUN! We’ve been
celebrating the fun this summer by focusing on simple things that make
us smile. These “moments of joy” have been the highlight of my summer,
because they’ve reminded me to have a grateful perspective and be
thankful for the little things.
Some of my family members came to visit this summer, and my cousin
brought an art project with her – a paint by number kit for us to all
work on together. As soon as I saw it I had to smile. It was an image
(waiting to be brought to life with paint) of Dolly Parton with the
words “I wish you JOY” on it.
How sweet is that? This ended up being a collaborative effort,
everyone grabbing a brush and choosing a number every so often as we
passed by the table. It gradually filled in with vibrant paint colors
(some lines painted a bit more neatly than others) to create a bright,
happy image (that my son is proudly displaying in this photo).
When looking at the unpainted blobs and shapes with numbers all over
it, I couldn’t envision just what the finished product would look
like. Which is how I feel sometimes in life, too. I get so focused on
the minutia of what’s unfinished that I can’t get a clear idea of the
big picture. Or I see all those floating numbers and get overwhelmed
by the idea that I have to manage or complete it all. When, in
reality, it’s each of us being part of something, bringing our own
style and messy strokes, that gets us closer to the JOY.
If I’m focusing on the small things, I want to be thankful for them.
Like those little moments this summer, the ones that add up to one
beautiful, messy, fantastic collaboration that is filled with JOY.
“I wish you JOY” – Dolly (& me, too)
