Learn to find contentment in the life you have
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
— Philippians 4:11-13
When I was in fifth grade, I read a story about an amazing Christian woman named Helen Keller. When Helen was 19-months-old, she came down with scarlet fever and it left her blind, deaf and unable to speak.
The amazing part of the story to me was that her parents hired a teacher, known as the miracle worker, who taught her sign language and connected her to the outside world. Until the day she died, Helen continued to write and speak about the miracle God performed in her life and how she learned the secret to contentment.
Like most of you, I can hardly imagine what her world was like, and to learn to be content seems near impossible. But if it was possible for Helen Keller, I believe it’s even more possible for each of us.
It seems, in today’s culture, contentment is rare. We’re always wanting the latest, the greatest, the newest and the best. Now, I’m not saying that there’s anything necessarily wrong with desiring something better. But when we’re always striving and struggling to go forward, without any joy where we’re at, we’ve lost perspective on our lives.
Oftentimes, it’s through those life struggles that there’s a lesson to be gleaned. Like the needle in the haystack or the diamond in the rough, it’s there waiting for us to figure out.
I’m aware some people are going through grievous situations. Right now, many people are going through job transitions, financial strain and struggle. These situations can, oftentimes, leave us feeling as much in the dark as Helen Keller. But she learned the key: contentment doesn’t just fall on us, and it’s not found in material possessions or grand travel experiences. Because material possessions wear out, and vacations fade away.
I think Helen found a deeper satisfaction, much like the Apostle Paul when he went through many trials, imprisonment and beatings. No matter what he endured, he still proclaimed the same message.
I think as we move forward to better ourselves, our true contentment is knowing that there’s hope in Christ. Even when the battles are long and hard, we have the present of today and the promise of tomorrow. So, let’s take a few moments to bask in the sunshine and sing in the rain as our first lesson in contentment.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author of the book “Letters To A Friend,” speaker, life and writing coach and nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com.