Contentment

Not that I speak from want,
for I have learned to be content
in whatever circumstances I am.

Phillipians 4:11

"Look, I really don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive, you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, you've got to make a lot of noise, because life is the very opposite of death." Mel Brooks

"Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine,
freedom, and a little flower." Hans Christian Anderson

"Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory." Susan B. Anthony

"Enjoy life. There's plenty of time to be dead." Anon.

Learning to be content with where we are and what we have doesn't mean we're giving up on what we want. Just that we're grateful for what we have. We need to see that spending our life being discontent only robs us of the joy we could be finding in the simple moments. There is so much joy to be found in those small happy moments. An exuberant hug from my child, a tender kiss from my husband or the touch of his hand to my hair, laughter at the dinner table over a home-cooked meal, a rousing game of "go fish." Life is full of these little moments. When we are caught up in being discontent or wanting to move on it tends to eat up all our conversations and the bitterness creeps into our words and faces.

I want to dream our dreams together. A little homestead, a small town, fresh air and sunshine. I want to dream them with joy though. I don't want to look at them as an escape. I have a wonderful life. It's full of pitfalls and stresses but the little moments are wonderful.

I have so much to be grateful for. So many chances to find joy. Life is complicated, messy, and loud. Just as it should be.