God will help us find new joys in life when we have the faith to ask for eyes to see.
When I was 21 years old, a mentor of mine asked me, “When do you think you’ll get married?” I really wanted to get married and thought I would have some nice dating prospects as I finished up college. I told him I believed I would be married within a year. But I was wrong.
Some relationships were easy to end. But one in particular was extra hard. I felt like he and I connected deeply and clicked on so many levels. We had the same core goals in life, we laughed hard and genuinely together, we could talk for hours, and there was real chemistry. He even told me that I was everything he wanted.
Then, right when I was about to tell him that I loved him, he broke up with me. To say that I was heartbroken would be an understatement. I didn’t eat for a day. And when I started eating again it was very minimal. I was devastated. He had become such a huge source of joy for me. He brightened up my saddest days, held me when I cried, helped me see the good in myself, and he was so fun!
I was perplexed as to how to move on. How could I find happiness again? He was such a big part of my joy. It felt like my chances for joy were gone.
But then a little miracle happened. As I was praying one day, I was pouring out my heart to my Heavenly Father. I told him that I was sick of being sad and that I wanted to be happy again. As I sat pondering and trying to listen for His voice, this phrase popped into my head. Something that I hadn’t thought of before. It was, “Find new joys.” I quickly realized I had been hoping for my old joy to come back. I had been focusing on old joys and mourning their loss. And mourning is okay. But I was stuck there, focused on the past joys, trying to find a way to get them back. Those efforts were useless.
During the next few weeks, my heart and life started to transform. My prayers changed from, “Help me to not be so sad” to “Help me find new joys.” It was amazing how the Lord answered my prayers! My eyes were changed and I could really see things differently. I found new friendships, new service opportunities, and new beauties in the earth. Each one brought simple, new joy.
This experience taught me that our God is powerful! He truly can deliver us from our sins, our sorrows, and our pain, just like it says in the Bible, “And ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy” (John 16:20).
It was also a great reminder of the power that can come from “[counseling] with Lord in all thy doings” (Alma 37:37). As we take time to listen, we sometimes learn that we need to change what we are asking for. Not only can He give us answers to our prayers but can also give us better questions to ask.
As new sorrows have come in my life, I now have a little process that I follow to get through them. I take time to truly mourn the loss or sorrow. Sometimes it is a few hours, sometimes it is a few weeks. And then I actively start looking for new joys. As I trust Him and keep trying, with time, He helps me find them.
I know that God is in the details of our lives and that He delights to bless us! He truly can give us eyes to see and ears to hear so that we can find new, lasting joys in life!
Invitation: If you are mourning something heavy in life, take the time to really mourn and be okay with that process. Then, when the time is right, ask God to show you new joys in your life.
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