Fighting Discontent: Will it be a Burden or a Teacher?
From the Monday Mission, March 23, 2020
Today, I wanted to share a COVID-related meme, except there's NO WAY I could choose just one.
I have felt more unsettled in the last week and also laughed more than I have in months. The human race may be low on toilet paper, but the human spirit is alive and well and creating memes like our lives depended on it.
I wrote an article a few weeks ago for ChristianParenting.org, before all of this craziness, and when it was published yesterday, I realized how much I needed the message TODAY. Here's a little excerpt that I think is applicable to all of us...
"I have to admit that the things in my hands are not always the things I most want. The easiest thing is to long for greener grass elsewhere, to wish for the last season or hope for the next to come more quickly. And I get emotionally stuck when I am always searching for the next best thing.
This is one of our greatest temptations: discontentment. Something in our fallen human nature is always wishing for a better life, overlooking the bounty of good all around us and seeing only the things that bring us pain.
But this practice causes a malaise that is hard to shake off. It tells our minds that there is nothing worth beholding right now. It doesn’t take into account that God is a good provider and he never leaves us wanting. He does, however, want us to grow from our experiences.
In this way, each phase of life can either be my burden or my teacher."
I am really longing for this season (that sometimes feels like chaos) to count for something - for me, for my family, for the church. I would like to DWELL in the knowledge that God is a good provider even in times like these. And I would like to GROW through the long days and the uncertainties.
Will you pray with me?...
"God, I believe in your goodness even in the midst of disease and uncertainty. I believe you provide for me. Help me to see the good things happening around me, the good people in my life, and the blessings you've given. Help me to not despise this season but to grow through it. Amen."
RECENTLY POSTED
When I Am Tempted to Despise the Season
Thoughts on the ease of discontentment and choosing to make the most of each season of life.
If you want to see what quarantine in Hawaii looks like when you're surrounded by little dancers...
And if you are a mom of school age children (or know one) who needs some encouragement right now....
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