be content no matter where you are

I was listening to Ed and Lisa Young on the Today Show and it reminded me about my role as a woman of God, wife, mother, neighbor, friend and leader.

Life in general has so much to offer that it’s easy to over commit, become over stimulated, end up over the top and on the very edge of burnout.   If Religion is jumping through hoops trying to appease God and man, then Relationship is all about contentment.

Contentment is not sitting through life being idle nor is it skimming across life trying to squeeze it all in.

• Contentment is found in the balance of priorities and commitments.  It lives and breathes in that “safe harbor” of  nurturing friendships.  It trusts in the authority figures God has placed over us to guide us in accountability.  It energizes and strengthens us in that place beside still waters that are constantly available to us.

Contentment is not passive, never a weakness.

• It takes an incredible amount of strength to live in a place of contentment.  It means letting go of some of the things you love to do, so that you can be available to do the things God’s called you to.  It means determining which of those things in your life are priority and re-evaluating the things you’ve committed to.  That’s hard.  I’ve had to do it.  I’ve had to let go of some amazing things because of the unbalance they brought.

It’s very challenging  for me  when God calls me to step back and evaluate my life.  When He shows me that it’s time to make a choice that seems to be moving me backwards because I’ve left others behind.  Asking me to live in what could be a shadow can be terrifying.  That’s where I have to dig down deep and know that I know, that I know, it’s not about what happens to me – rather what’s happening in me.

Contentment is found within.

~ by Jen Chappell on October 22, 2009.