Contentment Now
September 22, 2009 by Tara McClenahan
Contentment is something that I have struggled with for about 5 years now. When I finally truly surrendered my life to the Lord, He planted a seed in my heart that gave me an acute sense of His purpose for my life, not a full revelation but a “knowing”. Since then as I have matured in Him and grown closer to His heart, my restlessness has grown stronger. Restless is the best word I can use to describe the “ants in my pants” feeling that I get when I think about my future. It’s kind of a “Come ON, let’s get on with it!” feeling. Each birthday, I think “God, You know how old I am getting and I would like to be able to accomplish what You want me to before I come to live with You forever…..can we get to it, please?”
My hospital job is a gift from God in that it provides a wonderful income and flexibility for my family’s needs but it doesn’t utilize the gifts, talents and interests God blessed me with. Because of this, I have had to fight loathing my daily life. I want to do something every day that has an eternal impact for the Lord. Then a few weeks ago, the Lord revealed to me that what I do indirectly helps people in that it allows people to live another day and have another chance to come to know God. That allowed me to relax and know that even if I am not yet doing what the Lord has planted in my heart to do, I am still having an impact for Him.
Different Seasons
Another revelation was that, with and since the birth of my son, I am living God’s will for my life IN THIS SEASON. This is a huge revelation to me. I used to think that God’s will was an ultimate and final destination but I believe that it has different seasons and that while there is an ultimate purpose that is different than my hospital job, I can be content in the season He has me in now by knowing I am doing what He wants me to do in this season. For me, this season has me nurturing and training my son in the ways of God and preparing myself by studying God’s Word and letting Him build a foundation of trust in Him.
I have to pray for a balance every day between contentment with where I am now and the passionate fire for eternal impact that burns in my heart. I only know that balance can be found in Him alone.
Share with me!
- In what ways are you struggling with contentment or lack thereof in your life?
- Is there anything about your current season in life that you can be thankful for and recognize God’s hand in?
Awesome post Tara! Contentment is definitely another area I struggle with! Great questions you posted at the end. To answer them:
In what ways are you struggling with contentment or lack thereof in your life? I’m finding it so hard to be content with the fact that I’m almost 35 and a single mom and living with my mom & step dad again. I just moved in with them a month ago and I’ve been so used to being on my own that I’m having such a hard time being content here.
Is there anything about your current season in life that you can be thankful for and recognize God’s hand in? Yes. Going back to the above question & my answer about being content here at my parents house – instead of focusing on not being content here I need to praise God and rejoice in the fact that they have the room so that my son & I could even move in with them. I need to be thankful that the place I’m not content at is actually a safe place (the place my son & I were living wasn’t a safe environment at all) and a place that I can finally relax and not be so stressed all the time.
Oh Tishia, can I ever relate! My son and I moved in with one of my best friends in May and while it has been a huge adjustment and challenging in SO many way, I am so thankful that we had a place to go in a time of need! I try to stay focused on being grateful rather than on the challenges for sure! One thing that helps is to recognize that God is in control and that this is only for a season. Something I like to do when I am in a situation that I would rather not be in is to “buckle down” and determine that I want to learn what God wants me to learn in that situation. The key is to stop railing against the situation and simmer down enough for Him to teach us!! Easier said than done sometimes though!
Thanks for commenting!