Contented

The holidays are here, and my anxiety has started.

I read recently that the rifts and craters in our families and relationships are magnified during the holiday season. Add to that the grief from changes in our lives during the year and stir in the constant push to buy, buy, buy, and to have our homes sparkling, our Christmas cards early and our cookies fresh (and homemade) — is it any wonder that depression lurks under all the tinsel?

I decided this year to focus on the word contentment during this holiday season. I want to go through the next several weeks with peace and calm, concentrating on my many blessings rather than on what I perceive to be lacking in my life. I want to take the pressure off myself.

That may be a tall order.

What does it mean to feel contented? A sleeping kitten or puppy with a full tummy curled up on my lap comes to mind, or the sigh I give at those rare times when my house is cleaned up. I feel contented when I have posted a blog or finished a writing assignment, or when Keith likes the supper I cooked.

But does my contentment come only from the circumstances around me? Is there something deeper I need to be going after? What about all those feelings of discontent?

Paul in the Bible wrote some well-known verses about being content. At the time he wrote this to the Philippians he was probably under house arrest in Rome and was waiting for a gift from the Philippian church. He assures them he is fine, despite his circumstances:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Phil. 4:11-13, NIV

I have read these verses many times, but recently a few points stood out. First, Paul says that he has learned to be content. I tend to think of contentment as something I either have or don’t have, not a character trait that I can learn.

As children we need to learn not to be selfish, or impatient, or to act on every feeling and impulse that comes along. As an adult I’m still working on those things!  Learning to be content when life is not going the way I would like is an ongoing lesson.

Secondly, Paul had to work on being content as he was learning. It did not fall on him from heaven as he sat in his house with guards around him. If we look at the preceding verses, we see that he had to put his mind on rejoicing (v. 4), presenting his problems to God (v. 6), and thinking about things that are excellent and praiseworthy (v. 8). He had to train himself to look for the good and for ways that he could be God’s servant no matter what was going on around him.

Finally, Paul lets us in on his secret for contentment — he doesn’t do it alone:

“Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”

v.13, the Message

Paul’s secret to contentment is knowing that he has Christ with him, and that he can make it through anything with Him by his side.

 Let that sink in.

You can make it through anything. Anything.

Even this holiday season.

Just saying, I will be content, no matter what! doesn’t work. Trust me, I’ve tried. But taking those small moments to be thankful for what I have and to remember I am not alone, does lead me down the road to contentment. And at the end of that road I find peace.

And maybe some pumpkin pie if I’m lucky!