The Key to Contentment

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking a lot about contentment.

What gives me contentment?

Who gives me contentment?

Am I truly content?

This question has always seemed like one of life’s ‘unanswerable’ questions to me, those in which we ponder throughout our lifetime but never really find an answer.  And if we do find an answer, it seems like that answer is ever-changing.

I have spent many years of my life waiting for the next big life event to happen,
never really content with where I was at in life.

When I was in high school, I couldn’t wait for college!

Then college arrived, and I couldn’t wait to be finished with college.

At college’s end, I found my true love and couldn’t wait to get married!

After getting married, I was waiting for a child.

And now, here I am – college graduate … married to the love of my life … beautiful baby girl.

So what am I waiting for now?

As we get older, it seems that time moves quicker.  As a kid, time seemed to take forever.
As adults, we just blink our eyes and we’re another year older.

We get one shot at this life – that’s it.  We don’t get to come back and do it again if we don’t like how it turned out.  If we don’t stop waiting for that next great thing to happen to us, we’re going to miss our life.

It makes me sad to think that I spent a lot of time just “waiting” for things to happen instead of really being present and enjoying the moment I was in.

But these last few weeks have shown me the importance of living in the moment and enjoying it.  We are making memories every single day that we’re alive.  These memories will be what lives on about us.

There’s a great quote floating around out there that says –
“One day you’ll be just a memory to some people.  Do your best to be a good one.”

That’s what we all will become someday – just a memory.  And it is how we live our days today that will determine how good of a memory that will be.

Upon waking up these past few mornings, I have had an overwhelming sense of completeness in my life.  My habit of waiting for things has passed.  If I were to die tomorrow, I would feel content with the 28 years of life I had been given.

Obviously, there are things that I would still like to see and do – who doesn’t have those?

I want to have the privilege of watching my daughter grow up and experience some of life’s greatest moments.

I want the honor of growing old alongside my dear husband and holding hands while we sit in rocking chairs.

I want to travel to Ireland and walk the green hillsides.
(I will make it there for my 30th birthday!)  🙂

In terms of contentment, my life is complete.  God has given me everything I need to be content with life.  And He had provided it for me from the start; I just had to learn how to appreciate the present moment.

So what brings me contentment?

That’s easy.

• Family
• Friends
• Faith

Those three simple things bring me happiness – and simply speaking, being happy makes me content.

I encourage you to appreciate the moment you’re in ~ each moment of our lives is a blessing and should be cherished.  Don’t be going through the motions of life, waiting for the next big thing to happen, or else your life will never feel complete.

Enjoy TODAY!