Contentment-A Goodly Virtue

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Greetings my dear sisters in Christ. I hope this finds each one of you growing in our Lord and King. I'm doing well. . .simply enjoying spring, our good friend Mr. Rowland's visit, and spending time with my family. This post deals with contentment because that is exactly what I am being taught during this season in my life. I've never thought of myself as a discontented person, but oh, how I was wrong. first, let me start from the  beginning  . . .

Part One- "The Beginning"
We had been living in Missouri for about eight months in a small, but sweet rental home in the middle of Ozark country. Even better, we were settled nicely in Round Springs state park. It was very lovely and I believe God used that close space to bring us closer together. We were a walk away from a spring, river, and cave. . .surely, one would think I'd be content. But we're so far from town and the road is so curvy! 

Part Two- "The Nice Home Near Town"
This was my complaint and as we began house searching it became louder and louder. Daddy and Momma wanted a nice house with some farm/hunting land, (and we did too) but it was difficult to find those things within our price range. So after some time we found a nice home settled neatly by town, with a garden, a good amount of space, and it was very convinient. Yes, we had found the one (or that's what some of us thought). We eventually did buy this nice home in town and are here to this day. I was so happy. . .at least for awhile. I began to think of farmland, chickens, a milking cow, and sheep and began to dislike our nice home. Its not nice enough, we we can't have a cow, no fruit trees, why did we buy this house? This was my self speaking and through the sin of discontentment I began to grumble and complain.

Part Three- "An Opportunity"
After living in this nice home for about six months or so, we recieved a phone call from an old friend of mom's. "We have a home for sell with 37 acres, surrounded by conservation land, located near the highway, with ponds on it; why don't you come down and take a look at it?" Imagine, dear friends, our excitement as we went to look at the inviting prospect. First Daddy went, and when he got home his eyes sparkled as he told me not to get too excited. We visited a few times and left wanting it more and more.

An Intercession- "The Realization"
This is where I have to stop, dear sisters. It is during this time that I learned what true contentment is. My discontentment had made me very unhappy during this time. My unthankfulness made me grumble, and most likely, unpleasant to be around. As I stood looking out our dining room window the Lord helped me realize that "If  I'm not happy here I won't be happy there." Ooh. . .such a true thought. If I cannot be happy with the good that I have now, will I be if I have good later? I'm afraid the answer is no. I should have been happy in our nice little rental, I thought I would have been happy with our nice home by town, and now I think I will be happy with something else? No, if we are not satisified with what the Lord has given us, we won't be satisfied with anything else. The Lord gently led me to a place where I realized that I needed to be happy now. . .and I can thankfully say He has helped me!

Part Four- "The Grace of God Brings Joy"
Here I am sisters, joyfully happy with where we are living. I don't know if we will move, but until then, by God's able and faithful grace, you'll find me happily sitting in this home that's becoming dear to me. Now I can say,  "Oh how nice to be near a grocery store, where I'm able to become friends with the stockers and the cashiers. What an opportunity to witness to my lost neighbors, and to bless the widows nearby. How good it is to have a garden we can 'practice' at without having to work new ground. What a blessing to have a sweet country home which has plenty of room for us and guests, is comfortable, and very hardy. And the smallish kitchen I use to dislike?. . .it is so sweet to have a kitchen where every decoration has a nook to rest in and it is nice to be able to work closely with my dear family as we cook up a meal." Can you tell the difference God has wrought in my heart? Maybe we will never move, and at this time that is okay with me. We are here for a reason and I want to make the most out of it.  

The Conclusion- "A Few Points"
I still have much to learn on conentment and I can say that I do not always apply it like I should. But isn't God good to help us start? I wanted to share a few points real quick concerning contentment.
~ Nothing will ever fill our hearts except Jesus. We often seek for happiness by buying/sewing clothes, visiting friends, going shopping, eating, and so on, but these things never fill our hearts up. If we allow Jesus to become "all we need" He will bring peace and joy.
~Let us remember that conentment is a good trait we need to practice now--before we get married. For most of us, our parents have provided plenty to eat, a comfortable home, and nice clothing and that is a blessing. But when we get married, dear sisters, life will have challenges. Our husbands will be just starting out and life is difficult. I know my parents had hard times when they began.  So let us learn to be content now, so that, Lord willing, we may be a sweet and happy blessing to our future husband.

Let us continue pressing heavenward as we learn to become the content and joyful maidens God desires us to be. I have much to learn, but God is faithful!
With much love from a sister,

P.S. The above sweet picture I found at brandie-life.blogspot.com. If you would like, pay Brandie a visit--her blog is very sweet!