Be Content

It is easy to realize we are small when our problems seem outrageously huge. Insurmountable. To be to be allowed. It is when our problems are small and manageable that we seem to have issues with our own ego. Most of us living comfortably in industrialized nations don't need to call on God when it comes to cooking dinner, mending a hole in the couch, or picking out a new pair of shoes. In fact, it almost seems like an insult to God's intelligence to ask him for patience to get through a crowded grocery store.

But... resurrection from debt, a second chance at relationship with an estranged loved one, good health for the incurably unhealthy... these are things we don't have a recipe for. I can't pull out some fabric scraps and my sewing needle and fix a broken relationship. I can't always turn the off hypochondriac voice in my head. What else is there when life is altered and you can't move, can't fake a cure?

I went to church yesterday. As a passage from the book of Philippians was read, these words in chapter 4 verse 12 stuck out at me.

"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..."

Paul was wrote this from prison. He knew what it was to have his life altered in such a way that he could not move. He also knew what it was to have all of his needs met. He was content in both situations.

How did he do that? I don't have an answer, but I do think its an interesting point. Its easy to look around for God when I am not content. When I am lost and looking for directions on how to find the quickest way back to my comfortable life. And oddly, it is in those times of loss that I find I'm most content.

Some how when I'm comfortable its much easier for me to find the time to worry about things. When I am fed, I start to fret. I know it seems odd. Why do I ignore the assurance of God's presence when things are going well? I don't know. I just do. Be content in all things. Be content when you are fed, but you have to wash the dishes and fold the laundry. Be content in the small things that bring you joy and the small things that bug the crap out of you.

Be content. That's a hard one. Much harder than it probably should be.