The gifts were on display when I responded to her next question:
“What are your take-aways from this season of waiting?” #1: Contentment My other responses fed into this:
My favorite definition of contentment comes from a book about character written for young children. It says: Contentment is “knowing God has given me everything I need to be happy.”¹ The last blog was about gratitude. I am convinced that gratitude and contentment go hand-in-hand. When you focus on what you have (as opposed to what you don’t have), and thank the Lord for it, the blessing of it overflows. I read an illustration of this that I have never forgotten… “I was visiting friends who’d just celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary. The husband tramped in from work leaving clods of dirt on the carpet. I said, ‘His boots certainly bring the dirt in.’ ‘Yes,’ she smiled, and went for the vacuum, ‘but they bring him in, too.’”² Whoa! Talk about an attitude of contentment! God is the source of contentment. “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Tim 6:6) “…be content with what you have…” (Heb 13:5) “…for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances… I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation… whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil 4:11-13, emphasis mine) Contentment is learned through the Lord’s perfectly planned circumstances – like our long search for a house. It is His gift to you, that He Himself teaches and cultivates in you. Kim Doebler, says this well in her book ESP Character Training: “Contentment is a gift from God that allows us to bask in His love and mercy amid any circumstance.”³ The rewards of contentment are health and peace. You literally feel it in your body and soul. So, Momma, are you content? How is the Lord teaching you contentment? How will you intentionally participate with Him in learning contentment today? May you look around and recognize His gifts and provision, which are overflowing. (James 1:17) Amen.
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2 Comments
Kim
8/6/2025 07:18:38 am
Love this!! -- thank you in particular for quoting this (below) -- SO, SO true: the boots bring her husband in too!!!! I will think so differently about all the random things in the trail through my house ..... it's because these dear people of mine are all here that there are even these things!!! Great post, Mellany!!!!!! Praise God!
Mellany Zepelak
8/8/2025 06:50:34 pm
Oh Kim! Praise the Lord, indeed! I'm grateful you were blessed by this post. How often I need a perspective change. With the quote you shared, it all has to do with perspective, doesn't it? Leave a Reply. |
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