The Beauty of Contentment

"There must be more than this provincial life."

- Belle, Beauty and the Beast

Maybe so, Belle. Maybe so.

I think it's easy to get lost in daydreams of something better when what we already have is actually pretty great. (In Belle's case, her adoring father, cute hometown, seemingly carefree schedule, unlimited access to books, various admirers, and not to mention her physical beauty and figure...)

I guess what I'm trying to say is that although Belle's ache for the next big thing is relatable, there's also something to be said for living a life of contentment.

I'm not talking about a life without dreams and aspirations. I'm talking about a life driven by gratitude rather than dissatisfaction. A life defined by the beauty of simplicity instead of the complexity and pain of comparison.

Like Belle, I'm guilty of getting lost in the wistful woe of wanting something more than what God has provided me with, especially when it comes to my physical appearance. I often compare my body to other women and deem myself inadequate if I feel I fall short. Sometimes instead of accepting the body God gave me and working to make it the best it can be, I wallow in what no longer comes naturally to me anymore, i.e. a fast metabolism and ability to eat a whole pizza by myself and not gain an ounce of weight.

There must be more than this provincial body of mine...who's with me on this?

Perhaps you struggle with finding contentment with your physical appearance as well.

Or maybe you struggle with contentment in your marriage. Have you ever thought there must be someone else out there who could make you happier than the man you're married to? Do you compare your husband to your friends' husbands and take mental notes of what they do that yours doesn't do?

Maybe your home/car/finances aren't quite measuring up to what you dreamed they'd be at this point in your life.

What is it about your current situation that you wish were different?

Once you figure out what the biggest areas of discontentment in your life are, ask yourself this: Is the thing you're struggling to live joyfully with something that at one time you considered to be a blessing?

You see, blessings grow dull and get blurred by discontentment when we allow comparison to creep into our hearts.

Comparison truly is the thief of joy. Proverbs 14:30 says, "A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot."

There's not a whole lot that sounds better than a tranquil heart after being worn down by years of discontentment and comparison. The question is, how do we honestly overcome the way we've grown to see our circumstances that for so long we've deemed as subpar?

My sister went to Honduras a couple of years ago and told me about a woman she saw there who lived in a house with a dirt floor. Yet, every day, this woman was seen sweeping her floors. She didn't have very much, but she valued it anyway and did her best to take care of it.

Even though I didn't see her with my own eyes, the image of this lady sweeping her dirt floors stuck in my mind. When I think of her, I'm struck by the beauty of her contentment and the value she placed on what little she had. This is how we are called to care for the blessings we have been entrusted with. I think we keep on taking care of our bodies because it's the only one we have. We pour into and invest in our marriages because it's what we vowed to do. We work our hardest for the employer that hired us because they did so in good faith. We value what God has entrusted to us, whether it be a dirt-floor house or just the smallest one in the neighborhood.

I think we start acting like what we have is valuable--we water our own grass--then we watch it inevitably thrive as most things do when they are treated with care.

May we begin to see our surroundings with fresh eyes, full of gratitude and grace so that we may be able to confidently claim contentment in all things. (Phil. 4:11)  

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