Contentment

A few years back God gave me a huge lesson in contentment and it has stayed with me through these years. We were building a house and while the house was being built, the one we were living in sold. We ended up having to live in a very tiny single wide trailer that was absolutely filthy. We had just had our 2nd child about 3 weeks prior to moving in to this tiny trailer. I determined before we ever moved in that I would NOT complain about living there and would instead appreciate that God had provided a place for us to stay. We ended up living in that trailer for about 6 months. God in his graciousness taught me about contentment during that period. Contentment has very little, if anything at all, to do with our circumstances--the place where we are or the things that we do or don't have. It has a great deal to do with the attitudes of our heart and mind and their focus. When I focus on my circumstances, that's what I see. They might be good or bad, but my happiness will be determined by those circumstances. But if I choose to look past my circumstances and instead focus on God's precious blessings and appreciate those things, (whether I can touch or see them is irrelevant) then contentment is the natural byproduct. Not only contentment...but joy as well!
This lesson applies to so many areas of life, including the adventures we encounter during our family adventures! It would be easy to gripe and complain about camping in the heat with the bugs and a boat that doesn't want to start so we can go home. But where is the good in that? I would rather appreciate the time we get to spend together as a family building memories that will teach my children invaluable lessons about God and life. If I focus on the negative, then so will they. Yet, if I appoach difficulties with an attitude of contentment (and yes, JOY!), then that is the approach they will emulate. We want to build memories with our children that they will carry with them throughout their lives as times that we had fun together (this acts like glue among family members) and that will teach them how to live. I told a friend recently that camping in the summer heat with the bugs might not necessarily be fun, but it will be memorable! My attitude and focus will determine whether or not it's fun. And I've discovered...as my attitude goes, so does theirs. ~Dede