Celebrating the little things By Claire Musters

If you are anything like me, you will have your sights set on that end goal: finishing your book, finding a publisher, seeing your book on the shelves of bookshops…

While I know quite a few of our members have books just out or about to be out, for many of us, that process can be extremely long-winded and can get us down. Others may be writing for a different reason and so it isn’t all about chasing that elusive publisher. The end goal may be different, but we still tend to focus on whatever it is and perhaps miss what is going on around us in the here and now.

Wherever you are at today, I just want to encourage you to celebrate the little triumphs that you have along the way.

We can be such sensitive souls, taking every knock back and every struggle over scenes in our books so much to heart, and yet we gloss over the good things that happen in our writing processes such as what we learn about ourselves through the struggle, or the pure joy when we FINALLY get that sentence, which we have been fighting over for hours, absolutely as we want it...

Another bout of ill health this last week knocked me sideways for a while, but then God started gently reminding me to acknowledge and be thankful for the smaller things. For example, for those moments when I get an idea for an article due in a few days (like this one ;) ), when I finally get inspiration for a chapter that I’ve left on the shelf as I didn’t know what to do with it but felt it needed to be in my WIP.

It’s not just about my writing though; God has also reminded me to be thankful for the things I tend to gloss over in life. These can be as simple as the breath I am being given every second of every day and night; the wonderful windowseat with its view of the beautiful garden that I am able to glance at during my time with Him; the joy of seeing my children growing and learning each day. (It was pure joy to see the excitement on my daughter’s face as she recounted all she had done on a recent Guides weekend away. She had been so worked up about going but has now decided she loves kayaking – and she even got a prize for embracing camp life so much!) This last Sunday, we had some rare family time in the afternoon and it was an absolute delight to have both my kids hugging me as we played around together - see below :)

Cultivating thankfulness helps us to notice the little things. It also helps us in our relationship with God (and it is something that He tells us to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:18). Rather than focusing on the situations and circumstances we are finding hard, thankfulness reminds us to acknowledge who He is. And it’s as we begin to thank and worship Him that we get a more rounded perspective and our faith is strengthened.

So let’s celebrate those little things that happen today!

Claire is a freelance writer and editor, mum to two gorgeous young children, pastor’s wife, worship leader and school governor. Claire’s desire is to help others draw closer to God through her writing, which focuses on marriage, parenting, worship, discipleship, issues facing women today etc. Her books include Taking your Spiritual Pulse, CWR’s Insight Guide: Managing Conflict and Cover to Cover: David A man after God's own heart and BRF Foundations21 study guides on Prayer and Jesus. She also writes a regular column for Christian Today as well as Bible study notes, and her next book, Insight Guide to Self-acceptance is due out in October. She is currently standing is as editor for Families First magazine too. To find out more about her, please visit www.clairemusters.com and @CMusters on Twitter.