What Does It Mean to Live Life to the Fullest?
What does it mean to live life to the fullest?
We live our best lives when we feel purposeful, fulfilled, and joyful. We’re living to the fullest when everyday problems and stressors don’t get the best of us.
We’re living to the fullest when we’ve learned to walk in peace regardless of our circumstances. We have also learned to be thankful in all circumstances.
I invite you to join our family on a chilly winter morning, and we’ll talk about living our lives to the fullest. Also, be sure to read to the end of today’s post for a free devotional eBook to help you live life to the fullest.
What Does It Mean to Live Life to the Fullest?
The moon hangs high in the morning blue, and the little one points in sheer delight. I leave the writing projects to kneel with him and admire the view out the window. We soak in the moment, and it feels like an invitation to follow my child in learning how to live life to the fullest.
You only get so many dawns.
It might feel like your season will never end, but it will end.
The season will change.
The little boot-prints will grow long and wide, and the moon won’t always hang like an invitation to pause in wonder.
What Does It Mean to Live Life to the Fullest?
As the moon fades in the morning light, we spend the day making school Christmas crafts for the oldest two.
I’m wrestling with the white roll of paper that has me grumbling under my breath when sweet Bekah’s words cut to my heart.
“Not too many Christmas parties left, Mom. You know?” she says.
I know.
I know, but I suppose I’d forgotten.
I’d forgotten what happens when the bus carts the tweens off to middle school, and the holiday parties of primary school draw to a close.
Pausing to admire sweet Bekah, I wonder how it all went so very fast. I thought it would never end when she wailed all night and I swaddled her a dozen times a night.
I thought it would never end when we went to the family parties and picnics, and everyone else sat with their heaping plates of green bean casserole and cheesy potatoes while I hungrily slipped away to some quiet bedroom to rock her to sleep.
You Live Life to the Fullest When You Refuse to Feel Sorry for Yourself
I hate to admit it, but there were times when I felt sorry for myself.
I felt sorry for what I was missing out on.
But from behind the tinted lens of retrospect, it looks different now. I realize I wasn’t missing out after all. Instead of missing out, I was right in the middle of the very best thing.
As you read these words today, you might feel poured out by your daily rhythms. Nevertheless, remember this: This hard assignment is God’s holy calling for you.
It might feel like a heavy weight has been placed on your lap by circumstances.
But let’s pause right here.
If we really believe God is in control of everything, then it wasn’t circumstances placing the hard thing on your lap. It was God. The Creator of the stars and the moon reached down with his loving hand and placed this assignment in front of you. And who are you to grumble or tell him it’s not your choice?
You don’t always get to choose your holy calling. Here’s what you do get to choose: You get to choose joy or complaint. Gratitude or grumbling. Love or hurry. Peace or strife.
You don’t always get to choose your holy calling. Here’s what you do get to choose: You get to choose joy or complaint. Gratitude or grumbling. #gratitude #calling #attitude Share on XYou Get to Choose to Live Life to the Fullest
You get to choose between wishing it away and cherishing the good.
Your calling today might be hard.
However, in ten years, you might look back and wonder where the years went.
You might look back at the little baby who keeps you up all night. Or the job you can’t stand. Or the relative who relies on your care. You might wish you’d slowed your pace.
You might wish you’d paused to laugh while you prepared for the fifth-grader’s last Christmas party because at the time you never thought it would be the last. But it was. And you can’t go back.
You might wish you’d lingered longer over coffee, listened longer when the phone rang at exactly the wrong time, or stood longer by the window while the sun set low.
How do we live to the fullest when the calling is hard and humble?
I think it’s probably less complicated than we often make it: We take this one life with its many mundane moments, and we love well when loving is hard. We dive into our holy callings, especially the ones that feel humble and hard, and we live with our whole hearts.
We’re willing to strip sheets, rock babies, flip burgers, or file papers like it’s the last day of our lives, like it’s the most important task in the world. We remind ourselves that this might be the last night with the little one or the last day before everything gets harder than we ever imagined.
We watch for God and listen for his whispers in the work.
We live slowly.
We count blessings.
Meanwhile, we remember this: You never know just how many more winter dawns await. Live this one like it’s your last.
Your Invitation to Step Back and Seek God About Your Life:
Sometimes we all need to be shaken up.
We need someone to remind us that the good gifts in our lives might not always be here.
We should periodically remind ourselves that our lives could be turned upside down at any moment. The gifts we take for granted every day could slip through our fingers.
We don’t do this to conjure up fear; instead, we keep life in perspective to remind ourselves to be grateful.
When I catch myself grumbling, I stop and think of my friends who have suffered deep losses.
I think of a friend who lost her precious child.
I consider those whose husbands have passed away.
I think of every woman in my life who has endured a battle with cancer.
I remind myself not to be the kind of person who doesn’t realize what she has until it’s taken away.
Take a few minutes to sit with the Lord today. Ask him to open your eyes to the gifts surrounding you in every area of your life: people who love you, a comfortable home, good health, and whatever blesses you.
Consider life without these blessings. Think of how you’d cherish your moments if the doctor called with a dire prognosis. And then go live your life with this sort of gratitude.
Calling All Parents (and Grandparents)!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
Attention All Boy Moms (and Dads)!
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Find Our Family Devotionals Here
Find all three books right here. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.
A Free Devotional to Help You Find Hope in the Lord
I invite you to create space for God to transform your life by downloading a free copy of my devotional eBook, The Lean Into Grace Devotional: An 8-Day Devotional for Healing, Deliverance, and Replenishment. Find it for free here. I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
