Suprisingly Satisfied

"But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."  1 Timothy 6:6-8

 With our recent loss of our beloved Koda Bear, I ended up telling a lot of people who wanted to know what happened to her.  With one person in particular, the breeder where we got her from, I found myself saying that I have no regrets with Koda.  I can't say that I wished I had walked her more, wished I hadn't yelled at her, wished I'd love on her more, played with her more.  With an exception of a couple of weeks where the weather was too hot to be out for walks or our busy week at camp, she responded, "She was just happy to be lying next to you..."

That's contentment, if you ask me.  Just being happy to lie next to someone you love, getting the occasional ear scratch and when you're lucky, going for a car ride to nowhere in particular.  What more could a dog want?  I took Koda's story as a lesson learned: to be happy with life right now, with what I've got, with what I'm doing, no matter where I am.  I know I've heard myself say to my kids, "Just be happy with what you've got, at least you've got something, right?"  I can preach that lesson to my kids, but can I accept it for myself?

"I want to lose 10 more pounds..."  Guilty!

"I wish we had a little more on payday..." Guilty!

"Our bed set is getting old, I want a new look..." Guilty!

"There's 'nothing' in the house to eat..."  Guilty!

"I want a bigger car...."  Guilty!

"I've got nothing to wear..."  Guilty!

I've heard myself say these things at least once in my life, and I will be the first to admit it's harder than heck to not always want more.  When I look back on pictures of me at the time I wanted to lose 10 more pounds, I wonder what I ever complained about now that I need to lose 20 pounds.  We never seem to have enough money, but if we had a little more money I would want to go out to eat, go shopping, or get my hair done.  When there was nothing in the house to eat, it wasn't because our cupboards were literally bare, it was because I wanted Oreos or chocolate.  We humans have been conditioned in this life to always want more, to never be satisfied.  God never intended for us to live like that on earth.  What we think we WANT is not necessarily what we NEED.

"God can be trusted to grant you the supply you need to excel at His purposes.  So if you don't have it, whatever it is, it's because you don't need it.  You may want it, but it's not necessary in order to accomplish what He knows is most important for your life today."   ~ Priscilla Shirer, The Resolution for Women

 Do you have a special need or joy in your life that need a prayer?  Blog about it (or leave a comment) and link up with me to help get the prayer chain rolling!  I look forward to praying and rejoicing with you!