Friday, March 23, 2012

Old and Ugly or a Blessing in Disguise?

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. -1 Timothy 6:6 (NLT)

I was at Bible Study again last night and this verse came up. On the one hand, several group members were saying that we need to be content with whatever God has given us and in whatever place he has put us. And on the other hand, some were saying that being content with where we are will lead to never striving to be better, never wanting to be an improved Christ follower or work for the Lord outside of our comfort zone.

I didn't comment last night, because I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about either stance. After all, they both SOUND good, right?

But I'm ready to comment now. Here's MY thoughts on this:

I think that we can be both. I believe that we need to learn to be happy with exactly where God has put us and what he has given us. We need to do our best with what we have while we have it. And then, if God chooses to entrust us with more, we will have more. Being a Christ follower should naturally lead to wanting to be more Christ-like in our walk anyway, right?

For example, I'd love to have a different house. Ours is old, small, oddly laid out, and pretty hideous on the inside. BUT, this is where we are meant to be. God wants us here. We have tried to sell our house before and it didn't work. And I think that's a good thing. I am learning to be content with it while we have it.

Could we afford a bigger, better house? Probably. Do we need a second bathroom? It'd be nice...Do I wish we had just one more bedroom so our boys didn't have to sardine into the one they're currently sharing (there ARE three of them in there!)? Sure! But they are comfortable in that room. They are learning to get along better. They are developing a relationship with one another that they might not otherwise have. And honestly, they fit in there better than I ever imagined. There are three beds (one is a bunk bed), three dressers, and bins of toys lined up nicely (occassionally) under one of the beds. It's actually shocking to me that God could grow that room to fit my children's needs, though I don't know why I continue to be surprised by our miraculous God! He is amazing and that room is just one piece of evidence that God cares about the little things in our lives.

So instead of looking at my current home as old, ugly, and sometimes inconvenient, I choose to see it as a blessing! Living here means awesome neighbors! It means friends for my kids. It means the ability for our family to go on a dream vacation every year and have family night every Friday night. It means seeing a need in our church or hearing about it on the radio and being able to do something to help someone else out!

Here's my challenge for you and me this weekend: Look at the thing in your life that you are most dissatisfied with. How could you see it differently? Are there any hidden (or even obvious) blessings that have come of it?

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