Finding Light, Finding Joy: A Letter of Light for Joy Prouty
Dear Joy,
Some people move through this world leaving quiet trails of light, never knowing just how far their glow will reach. You are one of them.
I found your Instagram around 2012, at a time when I was trying to find my way back to myself. Life had left me shaken—grief had settled in places I didn’t know it could reach, and I was rebuilding, piece by piece. In that season of searching, I stumbled across your world—the way you wrote, the way you saw beauty in the imperfect, the way you carried light even in the hardest moments. And somehow, through the small miracle of timing, it reached me when I needed it most.
I remember watching as you and your family traveled, in that adorable camper with the painted flowers, moving from place to place, gathering moments like keepsakes. Your words weren’t just captions beneath images; they were soft lanterns, reminders to be present, to see the story unfolding in the life I was already living. At the time, my husband and I were passing through Texas and Arkansas, and I remember you pausing in Hope—finding hope in Hope. And I felt connected to that, as if we were both moving through similar landscapes, both looking for something unseen but deeply felt.
Over the years, I have watched your journey, and in turn, you have shaped my own. You have inspired me as a mother—to embrace imperfection, to let love and presence be enough. You have reminded me that beauty is not in the flawless moments but in the honest ones. Your photography, your storytelling, the way you have carried on through hardship—it has been a quiet encouragement, a permission slip to create, to feel, to keep moving forward.
I don’t know if you realize how much light you have given. But I want you to know this: You have been a light to me. You have made me a better human. And for that, I am endlessly grateful.
May you always find stars in the darkest skies and feel the same warmth you so freely share.
With love and light,
-Lauren
Searching For Stars
