Contentment

 

If I were able to instantly translate one major life lesson to my children so they could just "know" it instead of having to learn it...it might be the lesson of being content.

To be truly peacefully content in this day and age is no small feat.

I suppose this day and age is really no different than any other - there has always been a human drive to grow and innovate...a drive for "more" and "better".  It's a good thing if we manage that urge instead of letting it manage us.

But oh, the longing for the next thing...the looking ahead to the point of missing what's right in front of me...there's no mystery why the Lord calls us to a heart posture of contentedness.  

Truly, without contentment, I live my life in a way where I miss so much of the goodness right in front of me as I wish my life away for some imagined future.  Can you relate?

There really is "Great Gain" to be found in Godliness + Contentment.  My own life is a series of reminders of this truth.

It seems that every single major transition in my life was released by God ONLY after I'd settled into a truly content state of mind, body, and spirit.  

It's sort of like swimming (bear with me).  I can swim and strive and kick and PUSH against the current and waves...or I can just flip on my back and breathe.

I admit, much of my life has been spent "swimming"/striving...only to be left exhausted, weary, and disappointed...feeling like a failure and a disappointment...feeling like maybe God Himself had abandoned me.

It's not that He ever abandoned me...it's just that I didn't leave room for Him in all the "ME" I was focused on:  My plan, My goal, My dream, My effort, My work, My earning MY LIFE. 

In His goodness, He gives me the freedom and choice to go ahead and do "MY" thing.   

I'm reminded of the innumerable times one of my children would demand to "do it myself"...so I would step back and let them give it a go.  In my wisdom, I could see clearly that they were headed toward frustration, but it was something they had to learn.  Eventually, their little shoulders would slump a little in defeat, and they'd turn their sweet face toward me and sheepishly ask for my help.

They were met each time with my joy and love and eager willingness to help them.  We would do it together...as designed.

Isn't is the same with us and our Father?  Now that I'm in my 50's, I might FINALLY be letting go of my stubborn need to "do it myself".  I imagine that's a welcome relief to God!

As designed...we are meant to "do it together"

I find myself in a strange waiting place recently. 

I'm not sure where I'm going.  I'm not sure how to prepare.  It feels a little bit like the work I'm engaged in is...silly and pointless.

The Lord recently whispered a reminder in my ear of another time I felt this way.

We were expecting our 3rd child, and we were busting at the seams in our tiny little house.  So we decided it was time to move.  We contacted a realtor and looked and looked and looked at houses.  We made offers on several of them.  We narrowed down school districts and floor plans.  We KNEW what we wanted....but absolutely nothing would work out.  

Finally, as the time to deliver our sweet baby drew nearer, we decided to abandon the search.  Clearly, it was not meant to be, and we were exhausted and frustrated.  

Instead, we decided to spruce up our tiny little house and make the best of it.  Instead of using money to buy a new house, we took that money and replaced carpet, painted drab walls, and bought some furniture that made our small space more manageable.  

It was a sweet time.  It was a season of true contentment as we enjoyed the abundance right in front of us.

We were no longer looking for a bigger house...but one day it fell in our laps.  Even bigger than we'd been looking for.  In the right neighborhood. Near friends.  In a great school district.  

The problem?  It cost more than the previous houses we'd made offers on, which the bank wouldn't finance for us.  And there had been no increase in our income.  There was zero reason to expect we could get "the yellow house".

Well, guess what?  We got the yellow house!

And the home we were in sold the first day it hit the market for $40K MORE than we were asking after a bidding war ensued. 

The yellow house is such a place of sweet childhood memories for all our kids.  What a blessing and a gift it was!

To this day...I really don't have an explanation for how it happened so easily except to say that the hand of God's favor is very real indeed.

[Side note...the yellow house did NOT look the way I wanted it to.  I really did not love the canary yellow color, and was so eager to paint it.  We never did paint it though - we never had the money to do so - there's a lesson here on beautiful blessings not always looking the way we want/expect ;-) ]

The yellow house story is just one of many stories like this in my life.  A deep and peaceful season of contentment preceded every major turning point in my life...meeting my husband, having children, starting a business, moving across the country, moving to our dream home...

And I feel a call to a new season of good stewardship and contentment this very moment.

But notice it is not ONLY contentment that leads to "great gain".  It's contentment WITH godliness.  

It's a peaceful waiting WITH God.

It's rooted in a deep trust of who He is.  How good He is.  How faithful He is. 

So I will settle in. 

I will take care of my home. 

I will love my people. 

I will sort, organize, and tidy.

I will make yummy meals for my husband and youngest child, the only one still "in the nest".

I will learn and grow and enjoy as interests pique my interest.

I will worship and pray and lean into the heart of God, who has always been so sweet and kind to me.

And I'll rejoice when the next "yellow house" is placed in my life...even if it doesn't look exactly how I'd like it to.

BUT EVEN IF nothing "good, better, great" comes next... even if I'm in this season of contentment with godliness until the day I leave this body...


...well, I can't think of a better way to spend the rest of my days.

So here's to resting.  Here's to laying down striving and grinding and comparing.  Here's to just floating on the current...breathing...and trusting Him to be the excellent and loving God He is.

Thank you, Lord, for being utterly faithful and good to me all the days of my life.  Even in hard and painful seasons, you showed yourself to be patient and gentle and kind.  You showed yourself to be GOOD in every sense of the word.  Thank you for teaching me how beautiful it is to simply rest in your abundance...YOU are enough...YOU are more than what I need for all goodness and joy.  I choose this day to rest in you...to trust in you...to rejoice in the goodness that is this life, right now.  I look forward to whatever you have in store for me...whether it looks the way I want or not...because I know that you are good and capable to work all things together for ultimate good and for your glory.  Let it be, Lord.  I love you. ❤️