"…I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation…."---Philippians 4:12
 

I was talking with a friend yesterday. He began sharing the pain he and his wife are going through as they watch their son’s anguish over the finalization of his divorce. We began talking about the discontent in lives of people who are still seeking for Jesus Christ. They try to fill the void with all sorts of material possessions, pursuits, and people. It’s all empty!
 

As I walked home with my three children around me, I thought about the discontent in my own life. We have so many projects going on; so much pressure to get things done! Ron and I frequently talk about the balancing act of accomplishing things and spending enough time with the kids and getting enough sleep and pursuing our relationships with God. I remember when I was newly out of college, single, and teaching my first class. I had all kinds of time!! But how could I trade the freedom of those days for the life that I have with my husband and my children?!

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” I suspect God is very interested in how I manage my time, my children, my priorities. And I suspect He’s very interested in the attitude and mind-set with which I weave my way through each day.

The time-constraints aren’t going to go away. (My great-grandmother told me that even if I could have an extra hour to each day, I’d soon fill it up with stuff to do anyway.) And the projects that I have in front of me are really a result of the blessings God has bestowed upon me. The children, the house, the yard, the garden, and my husband. If I didn’t have all of these blessings, I certainly would have a lot more time. But I wouldn’t be as blessed as I am.

Praise God for the many blessings He has given me. And if I have too many things to do, more things than can possibly be accomplished today, I just need to remember that they are the product of all those blessings that I wouldn’t want to do without.
 

Nevertheless, I know that I can allow my possessions and responsibilities to pull me away from an ever deeper and more meaningful relationship with my Lord. Sometimes that lack of relationship (or time spent developing that relationship) can be a serious source of discontent. So I regroup. I stop to take a look at my priorities. Even if I have too many stresses and problems, if I keep my eyes on Jesus

Christ and ask Him for His guidance in my daily walk, I will begin to learn the secret of being content in any and every situation.