A Day in the Life of a 55 lb Swiss Shepherd: 

Ella’s day starts early, at 5:00 a.m., and she gets up. Shortly thereafter, she takes care of her business in her favorite spot down the street from our house. She then returns and waits in anticipation until her breakfast is ready–a healthy mix of cooked carrots, boiled sweet potatoes, and turkey. She has to wait for an hour until her food is digested. Then she heads out to the backyard for a game of fetch. With a dirty tennis ball full of wet grass, dirt, and saturated with drool, her fun begins. It’s the same routine every morning, but the joy she gets from eating carrots and playing with that beat-up tennis ball is truly something special.

 I often wonder if Ella will ever get bored playing with a dirty tennis ball.‌ It’s been five years now. Her excitement about running in the yard doesn’t seem to be losing its luster. If anything, it has only gotten more intense. I truly believe Ella found the meaning of contentment. It isn’t just about eating carrots for breakfast or playing with a torn-up tennis ball. It’s so much more than that. The love, stability, and trust she experiences at home contribute to her contentment. That’s why she doesn’t need much of anything else. Imagine a life so simple that contentment arises from such trivial things.

Unfortunately for many, it’s not enough to have our basic needs met. We want more! Our culture pulls us in so many directions. We desire bigger, better, and the best of everything we can obtain. “Keeping up with the Joneses” keeps us on that never-ending gerbil wheel. The one that you know you need to get off, but you just can’t stop it. 

Like Ella, my basic needs were being met; nevertheless, I often looked to the future, wondering, “Okay Lord, what’s next?” When I was younger, I felt the need to check all the right boxes: married, check; purchase a home, check; advancing in my career, check. If I didn’t check off the box in my time frame, I felt unfulfilled and discontented. As a result, I found it difficult to live in the moment. I struggled to appreciate what God had already provided for me. The day I finally got off the gerbil wheel was the day I surrendered to God’s perfect timing. I didn’t need more stuff. Instead, I needed more gratitude, more contentment, and a thankful heart ‌. 

The Apostle Paul was someone who knew a great deal about contentment. He was beaten and placed in jail just for preaching the gospel. Yet that didn’t stop Him from doing what God called Him to do. He describes contentment as something learned through the daily routine of life.

 In Philippians 4:12-13, Paul says, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the 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.”

 Paul learned that, whatever the circumstances that life brought him, it was Christ who gave him the strength to overcome. He didn’t become proud when he had plenty, and he didn’t complain when he didn’t have enough. We can experience that same power. Like Paul, we can learn to be content in the day-to-day routine of life. And we can trust Christ’s perfect timing and power to overcome.

How are you managing your sense of contentment? Please share your thoughts and let me know how I can pray for you! Click the link below.