How to be content: Even in the mess
While reading The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines I got to hear more of their story which was fun to listen to. There was a part in the book that Joanna said that stuck with me. In this section of the book, she was talking about a time in her life when she was trying to have things perfect but realized it is part of life for things to get messy. What she said that stood out is that she is learning to be content and happy right now even in the middle of the mess. She said that she came to feel this when she sat in silence to spend time with God and realized it's important to listen to God’s still small voice. It made me realize that this is an area that I am needing to work on and is a process where I want to renew my thinking. Reading all this made me reflect on both what I read from the book but also what I am discovering about what it means to be content. I don’t have everything figured out but thought I could share with you some ways that could help cultivate contentment more in your life as well as mine.
No pressure for perfection
Letting go of perfection is not anything that easy by any means. I know because I am a recovering perfectionist. I don’t know if you're like this but I can put unreasonable expectations on myself in my career life, in my relationships, and in several other areas of my life. It can come to be too much that I put on myself. We are imperfect people that is part of being human. But that is the beauty of needing God. He is perfect and this sign of humility allows us to depend on Him for our strength. 2 Corinthians 12:9 explains that beautifully “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me.” There is no pressure to have it all perfect and I am saying that to you as much I am saying it to myself. It doesn’t mean we give anything less than our best but that there is no pressure for perfection.
No need to compare
Comparison is difficult especially as we all live in this social media sphere of our daily lives. It is easy to be scrolling on social media and start to compare yourself to others. The thing is that we only see that one picture that could have been staged or maybe they are enjoying life. I tend to go into toxic thought patterns when I get caught up looking at other people. What I have been trying to do lately is be intentional with what I look at and for how long. I started unfollowing people and instead just follow what will be good to look at whether that be a church account or encouraging people and even business development accounts. I am not perfect and still fall into the trap but I am working on being mindful to quickly get off of social media when thoughts are negative. Time limits on these apps are a great tip if you are wanting to reduce your time on them. It has helped me for sure. I like spending more time in the bible app than in my feeds however this is not always the case but just the start of wanting to be more intentional is a win. Our lives are unique to us when we can be grateful for what God has put in our lives. We are filled with more gratitude.
Gratitude and thankfulness
Our lives are unique to us. It is not meant to be like anyone else's. Yes, not even the person on your Instagram feed. Ask God how he wants you to live your life. Discover him and get to know him through his Word and he will share that with you. When we can be thankful for what God has put in front of us and then work hard to improve in it then our hearts become full with his love. It puts me in an entirely different mood and mindset when I purposefully express my thankfulness and gratitude to God. For me, I enjoy having a gratitude journal and write out 3 things at the end of the day before bed. I love the way pastor Joakim Lundqvist said it in the True Virtues message series “Gratitude is the door to God’s presence.” This time allows me to slow down and sit in the stillness and quiet to reflect on him. There is a song called Gratitude by Brandon Lake that stirs my heart to worship but also reminds me to give thanks to God. Find songs that can do that for you. Even saying out loud thank you to God every day can start to change someone's heart to put your focus on him and not so much on what you don’t have or where you are not.
The pressure that we face daily to have everything perfect and figured out is exhausting and can be too much weight for you to carry. I understand this feeling and with social media, it can be consuming if we are not careful. But lately, I have been permitting myself to not stress over perfection because it is unachievable. I’m in the process of renewing my mind from the unreasonable expectations that I can put on myself. Maybe you need to hear that for yourself too. I hope the words of 2 Thessalonians 1:2 MSG ring true to you “Our God gives you everything you need, makes you everything you’re to be.”
What are you going to start doing to help be content even in the mess?
