Most of us who have experienced loss have had that moment - the one where a laugh bursts out unexpectedly and we’re overcome with guilt for experiencing any kind of joy in the middle of our pain and loss. We often focus on giving people permission to grieve, however long it takes, whatever form it takes. And that’s important! We need that!

But we also need permission to laugh. To sing. To celebrate and forget, for moments at a time, that we’re living in the after. Permission to feel joy.

I’m sharing three practices I’ve adopted to welcome joy into my life, even here. And you can snag my permission slip below! What would yours say?

ALSO - This episode wraps up Season 1 of the Even If podcast. Peter and I are taking some time to rest and unplug, BUT we’ve recorded some bonus episodes to release in August. There won’t be a new episode every week, but we’re not disappearing completely. I’ll be back with Season 2 of Even If after Labor Day!

LINKS FROM THIS WEEK’S EPISODE

Sam Hunt - Listen, don’t try to tell me Sam Hunt isn’t the best backroads driving, road trip listening music!

Ecclesiastes 3

Intro/Outro Music - Fighting Words by Ellie Holcomb (used with permission)

QUOTES

“That doesn’t mean you’re crazy. It means you’re human.”

“I could silence my song, I could straighten my smile, I could turn the music down and roll the windows up and I could remind myself of the ache that’s still raw beneath the surface. Or I could honor that moment, grateful that it came, thankful for the spark of joy in my spirit - not because my circumstance changed, not because God finally said yes to some big yet-to-be-answered prayers, but in an ordinary Sunday drive off the beaten path.”

“But we also need permission to smile. Permission to laugh. Permission to feel joy when it comes, to welcome it like an old friend, grateful that it chose to revisit us again when we weren’t sure it would ever return. To embrace it for a moment or an hour or a day or a year - however long it chooses to stay.”