Contentment

Can I be real honest for a minute? I have had a hard time with being content and it made me so frustrated. I wasted a lot of time and energy on not enjoying where I was at that moment. I’m sure it annoyed the heck out of Dean. There was a time in our marriage that it became a real struggle. I was always feeling there was more and Dean was always OK with where we were. There is nothing wrong with each perspective, they both deserve a place at the table. But that’s the tension isn’t it?

What do you do when you feel like there’s more to life than what you are living right now?!

Learning to be content, but feeling like there is more to life is a struggle we always have.

Settling for less and just maintaining where we are can be just as debilitating as never being satisfied and finding joy where we are.

I have always struggled with comparison. I felt that I wasn’t enough and lacked what most people had. We know that comparison is a thief that will rob us from every good moment, healthy perspective and joy in our lives.

It can be a hard to get comparison under control. We have unlimited access to every. single. person. all the time! We can see where we lack and we measure our failures or successes up against everyone.

As long as we compare ourselves with other people we will never measure up. So learning to be content with who we are, what we have and what we do is a lifetime of daily-get-the-right-perspective kind of thing. For me, going to the cross and remembering that Jesus loved me so much that He died for me, so I could be free and whole. That I would walk in the fullness of all He has for me. Comparing and wishing my life away cheapens His sacrifice and forfeits my joy and purpose.

The second thing about contentment is we are called not to settle. Jesus has called us to be like Him in every area of life. That is not a one-and-done deal. There should never be a time where we say we’re good enough. If we don’t deal with the sin in our lives, we can become unhealthy and toxic. Every day as we remember who we are in Jesus, we need to ask the Holy Spirit for what we need to deal with in our hearts.

“Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.” 1 John 2:6

The third thing about contentment is we are supposed to be eternally minded. We know we are made for more than this earth. We have a purpose that goes far beyond what we see now.

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

“Be a first-rate version of yourself, not a second-rate version of someone else.” ~ Judy Garland

In the tension of our lives can we:
* be content where we are but look forward to where we’re going
* be content with who we are but not settle for unhealthy because it’s comfortable
* be content with what we have but still dream of that new couch we can get one day…or car…or…

Contentment doesn’t mean we give up dreaming or working towards a goal, but is it all we are focusing on?

I have learned that is not true if I am content I need to stop hoping or dreaming of something else. Being content with who I am and where I am in my life is something I have come to treasure and fight for BUT I still have crazy dreams that I would love to see come true.

Let’s remember: We are enough. We are loved. We can find joy today, right where we are. We can change and be more like Jesus. We can still hope and dream things..big things and trust God for our future.

All My Love
~ Jodi xoxo

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