Contentment in the Ordinary

The other day, as I sat in the beautiful, one acre grassy yard of my best friend's sister, I found myself yearning for a home more like her's. A place where my kids can roam and run to their heart's content. It led to Katie and I talking about home buying and ultimately, what we would like out of our next home. We dreamed a bit together, but were both led back to a place of gratitude for what the Lord has already provided for us right now.



I've mentioned before that Ty and I have been looking for a home for about a year now. We have only looked at a handful of houses, because what we ultimately want in our next home just hasn't presented itself to us yet. However, in the last month, we've had some really hard, but good, conversations around the idea that maybe God doesn't want us to use our savings towards a house, and maybe He has something greater planned for us. Right now, we have a beautiful home with a low mortgage. It's small, but it meets our needs well. And every night at dinner when we ask the kids to pray, they always say, "Thank you, Lord for this warm cozy house." And it humbles me a bit. Maybe, just maybe, it's not about having more and perhaps, the Lord is teaching us a bit about contentment.

The world we live in today constantly feeds us the idea that our ultimate goal is to be happy. And how do we get there? With a big, beautiful home, more stuff, friends, great status, and lots of money, obviously.



But I think we're missing the mark here. To live a life where your goal is to have our happiness fulfilled, is just unattainable. I'm not saying that to feel happiness is unrealistic, but to have unwavering happiness is. Really hard, bad things happen in our world. Situations come up where we find ourselves questioning the goodness of God because, "Come on, Lord. I'm supposed to be happy and I don't feel happy right now."

Here's the problem with that... happiness is a feeling. Just like sadness, frustration, and nervousness, it's a mental state of being. It's here for a moment, but these emotions provide no sense of consistency. They're dependent upon our circumstances at that particular moment in time. At some point, we have to look around at all the Lord has given us, and realize that true happiness cannot be found in things of this world. It is when we finally cling to the one constant in this world - God - when we are able to fully experience true joy. And I believe it is in this moment, where we find true contentment.

In a world where we are constantly being told we need more, more, more, this idea is a breath of fresh air to me. Over the last few years, I feel like this is a battle I've had to really fight. There have been moments that I have legitimately thought to myself, "If I had a bigger, better house... If I bought clothes from ____________ and dressed like ____________, maybe people will like me better... If I had ____________... THEN, I'll be content and happy." and it sickens me to even write those words. To go back to that feeling. But, don't we all fight those feelings at times? It just so happens that the way the world around us works, thanks in large part to the blessed social media world, people who have all the pretty things just naturally tend to be more popular and known. But, behind that beautiful picture and beautiful stuff... will they ever be content? If we are always searching for the next big and great thing, true contentment and joy will never be reached.



But what if the goal isn't to be known by people of this world? Or to wrap our happiness around what we own, the money in our bank account, or the people we hang out with? What if our idea of contentment is wrong? Lately, I've felt more convicted than ever that my concept of contentment is distorted.
What does last is the joy we feel knowing that the Lord is with us, no matter what we experience.

In thinking about all of this, I have been challenged with the question, does happiness = contentment, or are we finally able to experience joy once we find contentment in what the Lord has placed in front of us and who He has created us to be. Does joy come from those beautiful, small, seemingly insignificant parts that happen all throughout our day, like that freshly brewed cup of coffee, that first hug from my babies when they wake up, a call from my mama on her way to work, a kiss goodbye from my husband, a warm meal, cozy jammies, laughter, snuggles, a bedtime story with the kids, the final prayer goodnight. It's easy to look past all we have to be happy about throughout the day when we're focused on what we don't have. It might not be big and grand, but it's significant and it is important.

The only way we will ever find true joy, peace, and contentment, is by seeking God and by loving Him and praising Him for the abundance He has blessed us with. It's a practice I'm desperately working on and have yet to master. I still get caught up by the weight of the world. I get sucked into the pretty houses and lifestyle blogs on social media. I want more, too. But the more aware of it we are, the more we can fight the good fight and realize what a truly beautiful life we live, all on our own.