I want it all. A clean house. Laundry that is always in the correct place. Fabulous healthy meals. A fulfilling job that blesses others. Time to run another half marathon. Perfect Christmas decor. At least two hours a day with God, studying and listening. Time for all my hobbies. A published novel. Is that really so much to ask?
Ok, to be fair, my husband cooks fabulous meals, so that's not on me to worry about. And laundry will never be kept up. But I do want the rest of it.
We always debut our Christmas lights on Thanksgiving night. But this year, I also aimed to get my book proposal complete and to a publisher by Thanksgiving. It turns out that having a clean house, fitting in running and Bible time, and doing that fulfilling job I love was all I could manage, and maybe one more thing. I picked the book proposal.
I grew up during the "women can have it all" era. And I really thought I could get it all done. And you know what, I probably could have. But at what cost? And why?
I'd like to propose that maybe "having it all" looks different from a Kingdom perspective than a worldly perspective. Perhaps I don't need it all because I have something better.
Instead of asking, why can't I have it all? Maybe a better question would be, why can't I be content with what I have?
The world doesn't want us to be content. The world tells us we need more; we need better; we need different.
Instead of asking, why can't I have it all? Maybe a better question would be, why can't I be content with what I have?
God's word tells us we need to be content in all of our circumstances. (Philippians 4:11-13) When Chad told me it's ok if we don't debut the lights on Thanksgiving night, it was like a weight was lifted, it never occurred to me it was ok, but I became content with waiting a few days.
I love Paul found complete contentment. He learned to be content regardless of circumstances. Contentment, which means satisfied, adequate, and sufficient in Greek, doesn't come naturally to us. Despite what happened around him, Paul was satisfied and at rest with where God put him.
Despite what happened around him, Paul was satisfied and at rest with where God put him.
The more we grow in our understanding and experience of God's providence, the more content we will be. The secret to Paul's contentment is the infusion of strength he gets when he can't go any further on his own, the strength he gets from Christ.
Clearly, I need to grow in my understanding of God's providence. Can you imagine being completely content no matter what? I want all that!