I love asking people about their “unexpected joys” after a time of being away from them. You can ask, “How is your summer going? Any unexpected joys?”
I believe the word “unexpected” makes us think differently and engages our mind in delightful ways. What happened that I wasn’t expecting that brought me joy I wasn’t expecting?
It’s also a great devotional practice in gratitude, especially as you will find that things you didn’t think would bring you joy maybe did indeed! Here’s my list so far this summer:
I didn’t expect to love growing cherry tomatoes as much as I do. I didn’t expect to enjoy playing a game called Farkle that I recently learned. I didn’t expect to love cooking zucchini noodles so much. I didn’t expect to find joy in counting the number of rabbits I see on a walk. I didn’t expect enjoying so much family time and becoming great friends with my husband and children like this.
I also thought I would absolutely detest planning a technical writing course, but I loved it. That’s maybe the most unexpected joy!
I pray your day–and the rest of your summer–is filled with unexpected joy!