So, contentment. It’s not as easy as you would think; and it takes some time to create those kinds of relationships. And frankly who has the patience for that? Well I should. Patience is a virtue, and a fruit of the spirit. My kids sing it at Awana every week. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. I must have joy in my heart for simply being with my family. It is such a small amount of time and I remember the times of not celebrating Christmas with just our small family unit. I was glad to be with our families, but I remember that first time we did that. It was really great. We were able to have just our own traditions, just our own family, spending the time anyway we want. But, as the holidays go on, you realize that you don’t want to be alone for every single one. I easily spiral down into a whole as I go through the holidays in my head – Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Memorial Day, Fourth of July……..alone. We were never alone for a holiday. Surrogate family that also didn’t have biological family around was always around. Friends gathered together for a big BBQ and Easter egg hunt. We had traditions – BBQ, parades, fireworks or whatever the tradition would be.
Now my life is different and it’s not acceptance I seek. Contentment is the name of the game I think. And I think that is really the true route to happiness. Matthew 6:25-26 says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns; and yet their heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
I love this printable from LDS Printables. And Nikki over there, has so many many good ones. I have running list of ones that I think I should put all over my house. Daily, visual reminders are important sometimes, especially for me. This might be the year, I realize that it’s already April, but that doesn’t mean that its not too late to start right? I love this post from Living Well, Spending Less about ways to find contentment. And we must always be in pursuit of it. And Corinna, over at A Designer at Home made it her word of the year!!!
It’s never too late for a word of the year!
