As I was sitting at our kitchen table this morning looking out the window at a palm tree outside the song Midnight City by M83 came on my Spotify. It took me back to a year ago. I was sitting in my loft bedroom at 818 Stanley Street in Stillwater and looking at my world map on the wall. I was dreaming of all the countries that I would visit in the next year and all of the adventures that I would have. I was longing to be someplace else. I was ending my senior year at OSU and it was far too sad for me. I was wishing that I could just fast forward to the next chapter of my life.
Contentment is something that I daresay plagues us all at one time or another. I think it is the biggest cause of unhappiness in the U.S. We are always looking forward to the next season of our lives and miss the blessings of the present. We miss the excitement of high school because we are working for scholarships. We miss the thrill of college because we are constantly worried about our future career. When we finally graduate and establish our careers we are looking forward to meeting our spouse. We dream about the new house or car that we can buy. We are never able to fully enjoy the present when we can’t be content with what we already have.
When we learn the true meaning of contentment we can truly realize the ways that God is blessing us every single day. Not just in the big moments that we post on social media but in the small, beautiful moments in the light of His presence.
The apostle Paul knew what it was to be rich and to be poor. He knew what it was to be discontented and to be happy with the cards that he had been dealt. “I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content-whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.”- Philippians 4:12
My prayer is that the peace and joy of God surround us and that we may be content right where we are.
