"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."
(James 1:2-6)
"Is that it!??!!!!!" I heard myself say, as the waitress placed a plate of food in front of me.
Immediately after saying it, I knew in my heart that I was guilty. Contentment and thanksgiving was not the attitude and expression of my heart.
Sure, it had been five hours since I had last eaten. And yes, I tend to eat every 3 hours, so this had been a long wait for me. Of course, while on a date with my husband I was allowed to be a little selfish, right?
All I really wanted was to enjoy a big pile of garlic mashed potatoes.
And yet my reaction of dissatisfaction before I even took a bite was very self-centered.
But this is only one of the many moments that God is opening my eyes to the reality of living in contentment (and my current lack thereof).
Well, at least it gave my husband a good laugh. He busted up in chuckles. He understood how hungry I was and knows how I can become like a bear when I've waited so long to eat.
And after I realized that my reaction was very un-content-able (sp?), I giggled right along with him. That is how easy it is. To live out of a self-centered reaction for your own wants and desires. But for the grace of God, there go I. It takes much more consideration (and prayer) to live selflessly.
It was in those moments of composure and with an intimate conversation of confession and repentance with my husband, that I've become more aware and intentional with embracing the deep, vast love of my Lord Jesus by finding my contentment only in Him. There are so many things in this life that can distract us from having and knowing peace....and unfortunately at times for me it can be triggered by a lack of food. Maybe this is why Jesus gave us the example of fasting AND praying.
Peace and contentment go together, kinda like peanut butter and jelly. I've got to get my mind off of food! Where there's peace, there's contentment. Where there's contentment, you'll have peace.
And what is peace? And how do you get it?
And how do you teach children about the peace of God if you've never experienced it?
And how do you exemplify to your children to be content?
The answers to those questions may or may not be a simple word, yet I believe it must go beyond our words and thoughts--into our very interaction with our spouse, our example to our children, and our witness to the world. What are we exemplifying? Does the sacrifice and atonement that Jesus paid, give us a fresh perspective on how we are living our lives daily?
May the movement of God's Spirit cause us all to consider.
