Skip to main content

Happy and Content!





The other day, I was hoping to go Christmas caroling.  I had planned and tried to get friends to go caroling with me. I was extremely excited to go caroling.  However, those plans didn’t materialize. We ended up having a small party instead.  It was probably one of the most fun things that we have done this Christmas.  We went to a live nativity, made cookies, popped popcorn, played Uno, and sang carols around the tree.  Watching everyone laugh as they got skipped or had to “draw two”, made my heart light.  I could have been disappointed that I was NOT caroling as I hoped.  I could have been inflexible and decided that if I could not do what I wanted, I would not do anything.  If I had taken that option, I would have missed a wonderful night. 

My mind goes back to another night over two thousand years ago when another couple had their plans rearranged.  Mary and Joseph were forced to make a trip to Bethlehem.  This was approximately eighty miles and even IF she had a donkey to ride on it was not an easy trip to make if you’re nine months pregnant.  Yet, they make the journey and get there only to find that all the rooms in the town are taken.  At that point, Mary and Joseph could have had one huge “pity party”.  I can’t imagine that they were doing a “happy dance” about their circumstances; after all doesn't everyone want their child to be born in a barn? They could have lashed out because their child had to be born in a barn and other couples were not asked to have their children in a stable. Instead they seem to be content with the situation that God has put them in; they adapted the plans they can’t change and moved on.


When we see others with better 
decorations, or buying better gifts, it’s easy to become disgruntled.  We want our parties to be like theirs; our tree to be as good as theirs; our gifts to be better than theirs and we can get bitter when they aren’t better.  As Christmas draws near, let’s open two gifts contentment and flexibility.  Let’s be content with OUR celebration of Christ’s birth and where God has put us this Christmas.  Maybe you, like many, have limited finances, or perhaps like Mary and Joseph, you find your plans changed by circumstances beyond your control. Be flexible,there may be plans to rearrange and not everything at Christmas turns out the way we hoped.  We can choose to throw a temper tantrum about those things or we can be flexible and adapt our plans and be happy in spite of the changes. What a difference it makes when we choose contentment.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thank You God For Turning Our Ashes into Beauty

There are tragedy and sadness in everyone's life, No one is exempt. Yet, in the midst of the hurt and pain, God is there. He takes the things that hurt us and make us sad and turns them into things are beautiful. The death of my mother  was a tragedy to my dad. However, because of that tragedy, my dad began to see his need for God. In his brokenness, he found a God that could make him whole.  God turned his ashes into beauty. My dad, in turn, taught me to love God.   I am blessed to know God as my savior because of my dad. God also blessed me with a lovely step-mom Life is harsh at times, and many things are sad,  Yet, if we let him, he will take our ashes and make them into a work of art.   He delights in making the ash heaps of our life beautiful.   When we are broken, God is near, and where there is sorrow, he will turn it into dancing.   Thank you, God, F...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rest For Your Soul

Tonight was such a beautiful sunny night that I decided to go for a walk and enjoy the warm summer sun before another wave of rain hits.  As I cranked up my music and headed out.  I could not help but praise God for the area in which I live.   I, quite literally, live 5 minutes from a small town.   If I want to walk, I can walk down deserted country roads without driving at all.  Yes, I am incredibly blessed.  I saw baby bunnies eating grass by the edge of the road and talked with the most friendly Jersey cows.  They always walk over to the edge of the fence as I walk by nodding their heads in greeting.   There was a deer, in a hurry to catch up with his “deer” friends I suppose.  There were daisies and buttercups, apple trees by the edge of the road and a creek that floods at least once during the spring.  I also occasionally see a very friendly donkey and a few horses who always come to the edge of the fence hoping I have sugar for...
Post a Comment
Read more

Speak Christ In Your Actions

Every day the situations we are put in define what we really believe.  Sometimes how I respond to the irritations that life throws at me, sometimes daily, is critical.   I work in food service.  I love it.  It puts me in a position to see a variety of different in a day. One thing I especially love is watching their reactions and responses to little things. I have seen people upset because there was .01 more than they asked for. I have seen little children holding out their hands for popcorn chicken as their parent walks by.  I have been yelled at and made to feel less than human because an order was missed.  I have also watched a nicely dressed lady show a ton of class when soda shot all over her.  She just laughed and declared, “Guess I need a shower now.”  She could have been angry and upset but instead she chose to laugh and “let it go, let it go” as the song says. Most of the time it serves a great reminder for me to watch my attitude...
Post a Comment
Read more