Learning Contentment

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Something strange has been happening over the last few months. I have been yearning for my 'dream house' less and appreciating our imperfect, little house more.

I think I was first concious of this shift back when we had to vacate our house for two nights while my husband was deer hunting. Our carbon monoxide detector kept going off, we couldn't figure out why, and so to be safe we spent one night with my in-law's and one night at my parent's house.

I just wanted to be home. And, when we came back home it felt so good.

The other time I noticed a shift in my thinking was shortly after this. I love to check out real estate listings for our area on-line. I've always been fascinated by houses & love to see what the insides of other houses look like. The real estate site I go to lists the houses details, along with pictures or a virtual tour. It's kinda addicting.

I would go to this site, type in a search listing all the things on my wish list, and see what came up. Then I'd find myself wishing we were in a position to buy another place NOW.

But more recently, when I'd go to this site and try to imagine our family in some of these houses, and imagine what it would be like to leave THIS house, our home, I just felt a little sad.

And, here's the other shift. Lately, instead of seeing and lamenting all the glaring imperfections of our house, I've been noticing it's charm. And, most of the charm comes from watching my boys interact in our house. This is the only home any of them have ever known.

When I was at my parent's house over the holidays I was thinking about how as a child I don't ever remember wishing we had a bigger or nicer house. My parents have a very modest rancher style home. And, to me it was always just home.

In the same way, my boys don't care that our house doesn't meet the 'standards' of this society and culture. To them, it's just home.

Another thing that really struck me was when Dwyanna from Sugar and Spice posted pictures from the little town near where she and her husband live in Guatemala. Take a look at these pictures if you have a minute or two. It's all about perspective. Much of that town is living in houses smaller than the average American bedroom. By American standards my house is small, substandard. By that town's standards my house is luxurious.

Finally, I've been really convicted by this thought. How ungrateful and selfish of me to whine or complain about the home God has given us! How would I react if one of my children told me a gift that I had given them wasn't good enough? What if all I heard was how they wanted something different, bigger, better? Isn't this exactly what I've been doing to God?

It could be that someday God might have that stone farmhouse on acreage in a quiet, serene area in store for us. Or not. I don't know. But, I need to care for, appreciate, and be a good steward of what He's given us now. Because, if I can't learn contentment now, it won't matter where we are discontentment will follow.