Saturday, October 28, 2017

Contentment...


The other morning, as I finished wiping off the kitchen countertop between my stove and refrigerator, I turned around and suddenly it was as if I was seeing my kitchen through different eyes! It was like I was looking at my kitchen through the eyes of a stranger who was seeing it for the first time and noticing how lovely and light filled it is.

This might make more sense to you if you know that we recently did a whole kitchen update on our 1990's era all oak kitchen. Because we had a specific budget limit, we did not change the footprint of the kitchen or get new cabinets. Instead, we had the cabinets painted and did other budget friendly updates to them such as adding new hardware to the doors and drawers and putting glass inserts in the upper cabinets.  I am completely pleased with how it turned out, but I know that if money was no object we could have done more.  Demo that breakfast bar and add a huge island!  How about one of those fabulous French stoves!  Why not add a custom built range hood!  Yet, I am so very pleased and so very grateful for my kitchen just the way it is.  I am absolutely content with the kitchen God has given me.

I am definitely not a stranger to discontentment, however.  I have experienced it in many different areas.

Discontentment with my physical appearance, for example.  Why can't I be one of those people that can eat whatever they want without gaining weight? (Comparing myself to everyone I know who seems to have that kind of miraculous metabolism.)

Discontentment about my relationships. I wish my husband or my children or my friends were more ____________. (Fill in the blank with whatever I'm currently noticing in someone else's family dynamics or friendships.)

OR, I wish our church was more ____________ . (Fill in the blank with whatever I am noticing or seeing online that seems to be making another ministry more dynamic or successful.)

OR,  I wish my house was more___________. (Fill in the blank with what I'm seeing on decor blogs, Instagram, Pinterest or HGTV.)

"Comparison is the thief of joy", Theodore Roosevelt once said.  It may not be in the Bible, but it is true nonetheless. We are constantly bombarded with the temptation to compare, especially now in our media saturated culture. Contentment is something I've had to work on through the years.  Maybe some of the things that have helped me to learn to be more content will help you as well. ( (Join me for the rest of this post on Sunday, October 29th, at Woman to Woman Ministries where each Sunday I share a bit of Sunday Soul Food!)


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10 comments:

  1. Being content is a big part of being at peace. When I realize I am comparing myself with other I cringe. Thanks for your thoughts this morning.

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    1. Being content definitely is key to having a peaceful mind and heart! Thank you for that reminder to me.

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  2. Yes, comparison is a joy stealer. So happy that you've found contentment with your lovely kitchen, and are practicing gratitude!

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    1. Yes, it is. I truly am so grateful and so blessed!

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  3. I have come to realize that contentment comes easiest for me when I don't try to manufacture it. I am most content when I am surprised by it. It keeps me on the lookout for it rather than in the market for it, if that makes sense?

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    1. I think its maybe both/and. Sometimes I'm surprised by it, as when I turned and saw my kitchen with "new eyes". I also think it can be cultivated and purposeful, like in my gratitude journaling.

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  4. This is one of the verses I pray for my life in my new home...and I am encouraged always that contentment can be learned.

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    1. I pray that you do indeed find yourself content and blessed in your new home!

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  5. Your post is full of such wise insight. We do tend to compare, and it seems now that it is in our face more than ever with the virtual world of internet. May be some of the reason for so much anger and sadness in this world. My prayer is that everyone could read your words and just know how special they are as God knit them. Enjoyed reading your scripture blessing.

    Peabea@Peabea Scribbles

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    1. Thank you so much! I agree that social media has contributed to a lot of the mess in our future, but also used for much good. It's up to us, isn't it?

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