Day 33 - Learning to be Content

Learning to be content is my next focus...besides growing closer to the Lord.

I can't ever remember a time when I've truly been content. My husband pointed this out to me not too long ago...it was hurtful at the time, but he's so right!

See, I always see room for improvement. Always. If the house isn't being run very efficiently, I welcome and/or try to find ways to improve that. If my marriage has struggles, I want to improve it. If my children have poor behavior, I want them to improve it! If I'm struggling with something in my life that just is NOT working...I work to improve it.

So yes, my husband is correct when he says that I'm never content...but there's ALWAYS room for improvement...right?

I found my old handwritten journal from the years 2000 and 2001. I was, at that time, a full-time stay-at-home mom to two young girls. Although most of my entries are positive ones -- discussing silly things the children do, or things that my husband and I are doing together -- there's also entries where I vent my frustrations at certain current situations. And back then, the most discussed frustrations were "lack of money," and the need for improving my marriage.

Fast forward to today, the Year 2010, and my main entries of frustration are about "not having enough time with my children," or areas in my marriage where I can see a need for improvement.

Some people -- okay, mostly my husband -- would say that I'm "the glass-is-half-full" kind of person. Well, alright, maybe my mother would say this same thing about me, too.

But seriously, from the time I was a child, there has been a need for improvement in my life -- from small things to really important things. And without divulging my whole childhood, teenage life, or current married with kids life, this has remained true and steady.

I searched for scriptures on "contentment" and this is what I found.

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:12 NIV.

And this one:

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have..." Hebrews 13:5

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Lord, please...help me to be content with my current situation. Amen.