A Content Mom
I just had to pass along this blog post to any of you moms out there that struggle (like I do daily!) with contentment. It made such an impression on my heart and was great encouragement for my soul!
If you want to be spurred on further, click here and here. Each of these posts at GirlTalk this week have been so applicable to my life, and were (and are!) a great source of comfort and inspiration to me!
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The other day I was walking through a furniture store with my three boys (not something I do very often, but I was inspired on this particular day – call me crazy!) when an older man passed by me. He smiled, looked at my three boys and said, “That is a full time job.” I looked at him, smiled back, then replied “Yes, but I love it.”
I do love it. There is no other job in the world that I would trade for being the mother of my three little guys. But if I were to be completely honest, there have been many days in my short career as a mother when those “I love it” thoughts were replaced with “If only…” thoughts or “I’ll be happy when…” thoughts.
It’s on those particularly tough days—when the boys arguing seems constant, when juice spills all over my freshly mopped floors and laundry is piled high—that I find myself fighting for a biblical perspective, fighting to love the season the Lord has me in, fighting to be content in every situation (Philippians 4:11).
Recently I read the article "Learning Contentment in All Your Circumstances" by Robert D. Jones in the Journal of Biblical Counseling, which I highly recommend. In this article, he describes the attitude of contentment that I should have every day:
"What is contentment? It is having a satisfied mind in any situation. It is finding inner satisfaction in God alone and in His provision for you. It is experiencing His peace and confidence in difficult times. It is consciously enjoying the fact that God is good, even when your circumstances are not.”
So what do I do when my circumstances in mothering seem “not good”? I know I am supposed to be content, but how do I get there? The answer, says Mr. Jones, is in the verses that come before Philippians 4:11 which he’s arranged into a helpful acronym, “PTO”:
-Pray (vv. 6-7)
-Think godly thoughts (v. 8)
-Obey God’s truth (v. 9)
These three simple steps offer a clear path out of discontent, regardless of whether my circumstances change or not. As Mr. Jones points out, “If you seek God’s face, renewing your mind with His truth and walking in His ways will produce inner peace amid circumstantial problems.”
Thank you for this post. I too struggle daily with the contentment issue. I long to be there, but so often overlook the "PTO" to get there. This was definitely a good read for the day.
ReplyDeletePS Can I put a link on my blog to this entry? I found it very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. We have so much here and still are not content. It's something we can aply to so many aspects of our lives. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeletewhat an encouragement. i think we all struggle with contentment in some way or another. thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this, Sarah. I needed it. I am usually a pretty content person, but I'm starting to feel some stress with the upcoming school year starting for us ... never having homeschooled with a baby in the house .... I'm not feeling quite as content as I would like. So, thank you! :o)
ReplyDeleteHello! Thanks for stopping by my blog. Wow, this one really hit home for me. I often think of how I am being discontent, but like you said I don't always know how to find contentment in every situation. I like the PTO idea, I think I'll put that one to use!
ReplyDeleteThank you!