How’s your contentment meter doing?
Broken expectations. Broken plans and dreams. Repeated disappointments. Increased restrictions. Confinement, loss, uncertainty, financial hardship, frustration, loneliness, despondency, depression. Any of these words triggering some emotion?
Living in Limbo land can play havoc on our contentment factor. We’ve been living in limbo land since our return to Canada from Kuwait 5 years ago. We expected that we would be going to a new assignment in a new country imminently. My question to Warren was “Do I buy a ¼ pound of butter or a whole pound?” Many ¼ pounds of butter later we realized that God had different plans for our time in Canada. He clearly told us that we were in Canada to care for Warren’s Dad who was suffering with vascular dementia. Those first 2 years were extremely challenging as Dad advanced in his dementia and needed constant care. If it had not been for a clear understanding of our ‘call’ we could have become overwhelmed with frustration, anger and resentment. Once Dad was settled in an awesome nursing home we thought it was the right time to go back overseas, however we did not have an inner release to go. Dad still needed us here. Limbo land continued, yet again. Finally, in April of 2019 we sensed that God was releasing us to pursue returning back overseas and we went to Paris to begin discussions with MLK about the possibility of starting an English Speaking Church. By August 2019 we agreed together that this was where God wanted us and began plans to move in May 2020. Packing had already been started for our shipping container when Covid hit in March 2020. September was the new date set, then December 30, now we are aiming for April or May 2021. But we hold that lightly. Contentment has been a daily challenging choice through all these unfulfilled expectations, hopes and desires. While we don’t have it completely down, we have learned that the secret is in Surrender; holding our hands up and open, and gently laying down our plans, hopes and dreams at the Master’s feet, with a child-like trust that our Loving Father knows all about it, and has even greater plans for us than the ones we hoped for.
God in His Infinite Wisdom knows that Eternal issues Trump our Temporal Challenges.
We have found that the second secret to coping is Changing our Perspective. Perspectives like:
Hey ,we are all in this together (Covid) In a warped way this is comforting
We are powerless to change the situation so let’s create new ways to do life
What a beautiful place to be isolated in our house on the lake
Zoom is pretty awesome and our internet works great
We get to see more of our family (sometimes) compared to being overseas
When life gives you lemons make lemonade and learn French at home!
Yes, we are in this together. Some have it much worse than others, but we believe that each of us can still find that contentment that is much deeper and richer than surface happiness at desired life outcomes. So what’s your secret to finding contentment?
Comments