Finding Contentment

By Lisa Harris

I’ve spent a lot of my life waiting for the next big thing. When I was in high school I couldn’t wait for college. Then I was single and couldn’t wait to get married. Once I got married, even that wasn’t enough. I longed for children despite years of infertility.

I think we all experience that wave of discontentment, maybe more often than we’d like. As a writer it’s wanting to win an award or making that best seller list, and then everything will be perfect.

Right?

           

If only.   

If only ________________ then __________________.

You fill in the blanks.

It’s simply so easy to forge on toward the next best thing, believing that will be the thing to make us content.

           

But guess what? It probably won’t.

And in the process we often miss the blessings right in front of us.

When I was first published by a major house, I was convinced my life was going to change dramatically. Can I let you in on a little secret? It didn’t. Except for the fact that I now had more work and higher expectations. A bad thing? Not at all. It was wonderful. But I learned that even achieving that dream didn’t automatically come with all my problems vanishing.

Don’t get me wrong, we shouldn’t stop growing or dreaming or having goals, whatever they might be, but what about enjoying the journey? I want to make sure I stop and find joy in the place where I’m at right now. Whither I’m completely where I want to be or not.

Paul says in Philippians 4 that he learned to be content. Yep, he said learned. Which sounds to me like it didn’t come naturally. He said he learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. Well fed or hungry. Rich or poor. In need or having plenty.

We know that God doesn’t always change the situations we’re in. And sometimes that’s hard, especially in a world that seems to be in so much turmoil right now. Sometimes He uses tough situations to strengthen us, which in turn actually helps us to persevere.

So no matter what is happening in your life right now, whether great or difficult, take a moment today to stop and see the beauty around you. To see God’s handprint. Enjoy the moment as we strive to find contentment through Him no matter what is happening around us.

Be blessed!

Lisa Harris
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LISA HARRIS is a Christy Award finalist for Blood Ransom and Vendetta, Christy Award winner for Dangerous Passage, and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for Blood Covenant and Vendetta from Romantic Times. She has over thirty novels and novella collections in print. She and her family have spent over twelve years working as missionaries in Africa. When she's not working she loves hanging out with her family, cooking different ethnic dishes, photography, and heading into the African bush on safari. For more information about her books and life in Africa visit her website at www.lisaharriswrites.com