Seasonal Planning

 "What if the DETOUR is the DESTINATION?"

It's no secret that summer is not my favorite season.

I've never been a huge fan of the heat, but then the gastro chaos sealed the deal.

My people don't do well off routines. They flounder. I flounder.

We are people made for regular Sabbaths. Not a 12 week detour from all things familiar filled with all things random.

I've been praying for the ability to find joy in this season. This nature season, but really this season of life.

I was reminded this week that prayer is how we communicate AND commune with God. It's how we grow intimacy.

I'm communicating.

I'm not sure I'm communing.

This week I clearly felt this familiar tug. This "Get on the same page as me" tug.

I'm praying for joy.

But I'm not watering joy.

I'm watering anxiety and discontent and sighing.

Yesterday as Peanut swam, and I furiously devoured a fiction book, it began to rain. One of those beautiful summer rains. The kind that comes in out of nowhere and leaves just as fast.

I ran to put my library book under cover and grabbed an umbrella.

And I almost missed it.

The pure joy on Peanut's face as the rain pounded harder and she totally lived in the moment.

It was amongst the intense rainfall that I could see clearly.

He has gifted me countless OPPORTUNITIES for joy.

I'm not going to wake up a person who is not anxious, not overwhelmed, not sighing.

I'm going to authentically wake up as me and have to CHOOSE joy.

I am going to have use the OPPORTUNITIES He gifts me to water joy.

A few months ago I heard an idea on a podcast about seasonal planning. Sitting with pen and paper and being intentional about goal setting in each season. Reflecting on the season before - what were my wins? what were my struggles?

And planning how I would want to live so I can be who I want to be.

Another blog on seasonal planning came across my searches.

And just this week a friend posted her own seasonal planning journey.

If I'm going to receive joy, I'm going to have to plan for it. Look for it.

Make space for it.

Be intentional about it.

I gathered my fanciest colored pens, my journal gifted to me on my bday which makes me smile, a glue stick and some scissors, and a few printables from the sites I had been reading on.

I made a plan to SEEK joy.

I listed things I want MORE of.

I listed things I want LESS of.

I made space for family, work, physical, emotional, spiritual , and my home projects.

I asked myself in each of these areas "What's the next right thing?"

And I wrote them down.

The resources appeared.

This morning a church I virtually attend began a sermon series on Joy.

Mama Warriors, because while you can't plan for the moment you are going to feel teary at the sight of the biggest 8 year old grin in the rain, you can plan to make space for it.

You can plan to be intentional with your people.

You can plan to be looking for that which you seek.

We can look for answered prayers in OPPORTUNITIES.