Living contentedly.

There are times I get so frustrated with life because it’s not the way “it was supposed to be.” I’m not sure when, but somewhere in my past, I must’ve decided that life was “supposed” to go a certain way for me. I was planning on having my own business by now. At one point in my life, I planned on making a living in New York City, at a large publishing house. I believed that lie, one that so many people do, that life owed me something. It owed me a happy and successful existence, one without worry or much concern. What a beautiful lie. One that I would so love to be true. But life turned out differently, and when I stop and think about it, I realize that I never meant to end up where I am today.

I don’t know why I ever believed that lie. I could blame those movies, the ones that make life sweet, with little heartache or difficulty. I could blame those books, where the main characters go through hell and back, yet still remain unscathed. They are all but promised their fairy-tale ending. But in the real world, we are not promised that ending. I have wished so incredibly hard that the ending I imagined for myself would become reality. And how wrong I was to do so. I would love to blame anything except my own short-sightedness and naivety for believing that lie. But I can’t. And so sometimes I struggle with the idea that my life “could have been” different, and maybe even happier, which leads to my struggle with being content with where I am today. Sounds awfully selfish, doesn’t it? I so want to be content with where I am, not worry about how I could’ve changed it my life in years past… So I’ve been talking with God about it.

Isaiah 33:6 says,

“He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.”

Whether you believe we have some control over our life choices, or whether you believe God has everything completely decided by the time we come along, the truth is plain to read. When we struggle with life’s twists and turns, God will be our foundation. A strong foundation that doesn’t tremble or rock during life’s difficulties. We may not be able to see what is up ahead, or the assignments He has for us. But if we look to Him when the wind blows and the sky is dark, He will be the ground upon which we can safely tread. He will provide the words for us to say, the thoughts we need to process and the reminders of His grace that is always with us.

My prayer is that God will use these times of change to make us stronger —  emotionally, mentally and spiritually  — and therefore, more reliant upon His strength. He is the rock of salvation, He is the unchanging God, and the world is held by His careful, caring hands. Who better to trust than our Creator and Author God?