The Encouraging Crafter

I haven’t posted a new blog in a while. I have written several but then I felt like they were too depressing. I started this blog to just show a day in the life of…well me. A Christ follower, wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend. In order to do that, I need to be open and honest about my life. I don’t want to only share happy things, but I also want to share the hard times. I hope that people reading this realize that they are not alone. There are people who are going through the same things as I am and even those who are going through worse. I hope this blog is an encouragement to those who need it or even a way to get a different perspective on what you may be going through.

This year has not been the best. I know that people lose loved ones everyday. The passing of my mom has been extremely difficult on my family. She was the matriarch. My go to person. The one I called in good times and bad. The one I called when the boys had done something good, funny or even bad. Loosing someone that important to you is tough. I’m blessed in the fact that I have a supportive family and some absolutely amazing friends. I don’t really know how I would have gotten through these times without my complete faith and trust in God as well as those that surround me. Knowing that my mom is experiencing the unspeakable joy of being with Jesus brings me great joy!!!

I’m starting to find joy. It hasn’t been easy. Sometimes I find myself trying to force myself to see the joy around me. It’s baby steps. It somewhere to start. I know that is what my mom would want. She even mentioned in a poem she wrote…”to not mourn for her too long”. I find joy in knowing that I loved her completely and she loved me more that I could possibly know. I find joy in remembering the good times and my 43 years of memories God blessed me to have with her.

There are so many memories. My mom loved her grandchildren. When I started working full time and the kids were in school, she didn’t get to see them as much. I knew I was in trouble when she showed up at church. I would see her walking across the parking lot and even if I was in the middle of taking care of something for Sunday service, I would stop and go get the kids where ever they were. She would walk in the door and give me a look and say “where are my grand babies”. I was in my early 30s and I still got THE LOOK and knew I was I trouble and I needed to fix it right away. I wish I could ha inherited that LOOK!!

I tell that story because when i think about it, it makes me smile. It brings me joy to see and know her love. The Bible talks a lot about joy. Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” The Bible also says in Psalms 118:24 “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” The Bible mentions the word joy over 180 times. To me that shows that it is important. So whether you are going through a struggle, a trial or anything that can cause you strife or pain, try to focus on at least one thing in your life that is joyful. I’m sure once you start thinking about it, you will find more than one thing. We have many things that bring us joy and God wants us to be joyful!!

If there is any way I can pray for you, please let me know. I hope through my pain and I can help others. I am not a big Bible scholar or even claim to know a lot well about anything lol, but I can share my experiences and hopefully help some people along the way. I think that is what my mom would want. It brings me joy to honor her. I think this world needs more joy! After all her name is JOYce!!!

If you would like prayer or to chat, please leave a comment below. Share with me something that brings you joy. If you want it to be private, you can message me on Facebook or email me at katrina.betsill@gmail.com.

Trying to find Joy!

Katrina