All I Could Ever Want By Kay

As I was folding my son’s pajamas and t-shirts the other day I turned on the TV and settled on a silly chick flick that I figured would help pass the time a little.  I usually don’t expect much in terms of meaningful dialogue from a movie like this one, but something a character said caught my attention.

 

In one scene, a woman told her friend that she had finally gotten “all that she had ever wanted.” As I folded the clothes into neat piles in front of me, I wondered if I could really say that I have all I could ever want.

Because the truth is, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want and how to get it.   And some of the things that I spend time wanting are good things like a home with a bigger back yard, another child or blessings for my husband and son. But often the things I want are really trivial things like a new purse or iPad or jogging stroller.  Not necessarily bad things, but not worth the time I spend plotting how to get them.

A few days later it was Mother’s Day.  And as I sat in church and listened to amazing music and a completely inspiring message for moms, which was in no way a cheesy mom sermon, I realized that I really do have all I could ever want.

I have a husband who loves me, a son who brings me joy, a home that keeps us warm and dry, clothes on my back, food on my table.  I have all I could ever want.

And I guess that’s the meaning of contentment.  If all the great things that I just listed are all that are to be for my life, I’ll be OK.  If the buck stops here, I can deal with that.

I don’t think that means I have to stop wanting the good things.  But if we don’t get to move to a house with a big backyard, OK.  If we aren’t blessed with another child, OK.  If I don’t get to write a book and go on a book tour, OK.  Not getting some of these things might hurt, but I’ll make it.

I can be content with my life if I choose to be because God has blessed me with all I could ever want.  I won’t stop asking him for the good things, but it’s time to stop thinking so much about the not-so-meaningful things.   For me, being content takes some work, but it’s worth it because contentment is what I really want.

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