Got Contentment?

My friends back home that are in a Women’s Bible study are currently reading the book called “Calm My Anxious Heart” by Linda Dillow and they sent me a copy. I’m so glad b/c I’m getting so much out of it! One of the illustrations that Linda gives is about a woman named Ella that lives in Africa, where they have no running water, it’s always about 120 degrees, no electricity… You get the point. Ella’s prescription for being content was to follow these 5 steps:
-Never allow yourself to complain about anything – not even the weather.
-Never picture yourself in any other circumstance or someplace else.
-Never compare your lot with another’s.
-Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.
-Never dwell on tomorrow-remember that tomorrow is God’s, not ours.

OUCH! These good steps to live by are quite important, and I can see where if you start by complaining about weather, it’s easy to just keep going… so don’t even start right? I think that worrying is a genetic defect in all women (ok not really, more of a sin that we chose to harbor), but I’m determined to let God take care of everything! Phil 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” I can’t ensure my safety here, or even in the States, but God can and will until His plans for me change. What a blessing to know that our Heavenly Father will take control of all things if we let him!

I’ll leave you with this thought by Linda: “Contentment is a state of the heart, not a state of affairs.”