and i'm not talking about the weather. although i tend to be a bit more reflective as the leaves are changing and autumn is in the air. life is full of sunshine and rain, seasons we prefer to never relive, some we wish we could, and some that feel like blah. i get stuck in the rut of always waiting for the next stage of life to come along... instead of enjoying the moment, i'm wishing for the moment to pass by. why do i do this?
i remember in college thinking that once i graduated, then life would be great. but then, after i graduated it was something else... like having kids. if we could just have kids it felt like then, for real, this time, life would be perfect. but you know what? life is hard. not one thing on this earth is ever going to satisfy and make you feel like life is perfect. except Christ; He satisfies.
once you have kids, you still have all the same issues but now you bring children into the mix. so here's what i'm thinking... if i really just learn to be content in Christ, knowing that life is never going to get to a point of perfection, then i might really be able to enjoy the Lord's blessings, whatever they may be, at any given point in time, whatever the season may be.
besides, we'd have no reason to yearn for heaven if life was perfect. the trials of this life make us all the more eager to be in the place of perfect peace. until then, i'll work hard to find my satisfaction in Christ and enjoy the little glimpses of heaven the Lord gives.
so, in the midst of babies that have been sick off and on for the last month and a half, a colicky baby girl, an active toddler, a mortgage that is going up (yuck), i'm choosing to be ever so thankful and savor all of the memories we are making... no matter how many fevers i have to tend to or runny noses i have to wipe. especially since they are such cute noses.
42 {comments}:
I hear ya. I'm always looking for the next step. Sometimes you just have to slow down and bask in what you've got!
My life has gone exactly the same way - when I was single I wanted a boyfriend, then I wanted a fiance, then to get married, then to have my first job, then kids....on and on and on. It is a continual struggle for my mind to stay consciously focused on where I am *right now.* We have been living with my parents for the last month while we wait for our house to sell, and even though it's not my first choice, it's been an unexpected blessing in disguise. Although I help out around the house, it's not my own home, which leaves me a lot of extra time to play with Luke. I am really relishing this time with him. I am enjoying him in whole new ways and I am so thankful for this roundabout blessing that God has given me. Thanks for your words of encouragement this morning!
I have the same issue, Carissa. I think to myself "If I only got to ____ point in my life, things would be better..." But when I actually GET to that point, I realize that I missed something very dear. And actually, what happens most often for me is that I will live in the past, savoring one year and putting it up on a pedestal, honoring it as the "perfect year," and saying that nothing could ever live up to it... until next year does. Until next year is BETTER. I realize that, in my hungering for what I know is beautiful and familiar, I am missing the lovely opportunities and experiences the Lord is giving me NOW.
This was such a good post. Love you!
Elizabeth Rose
thank you so much for writing this. my heart so needed to hear it this morning...i'm in a season of learning to wait well and definitely needed the reminder to focus on the little glimpses of heaven today rather than what's coming.
Thank you for the reminder to just stop and savor the now moments!!! you are awesome!
Love your blog Carissa, even though I never comment. I agree 100%... Christ is the only person who can truly fulfill us and give us the contentment and peace we all yearn for. Hang in there with those little ones!
we could be the same person! i have struggled with finding that contentment a lot. always wanting the next step in life and never enjoying what i have in front of me and it's been a prayer of mine for the last year or so that i would live every day for Christ the way that He would want me to and that I would find contentment and fulfillment in my life through Him. So glad you are enjoying this beautiful time in your life sister : )
They are such cute noses!!! This is for all of us - learning to be content. Thanks Carissa!
Amen, sister. Some days (okay, all of them!) you just have to choose to be thankful! Praise God for the grace to do that, fail, and then try again. :)
Thanks, I needed to hear that. I have been thinking lately, "if i only had ____, or when i get to do ____ life will feel stable, complete, and fulfilled" thank you for reminding me to be satisfied in Christ alone and in that I know he will fulfill those needs.
Ashley
I think everybody does this. My Honey and I have been king and queen of waiting for this or that. Knowing life would be great then. But it's the lows that seem to shape us and help us appreciate the highs all the more.
God really uses you to give such great reminders. Thank you.
I love this post Carissa! It truly is a reminder that we all should be content with our lives and be satisfied in Christ alone and happy that he has fulflled our needs! I know personally I struggle with looking towards the next season as well, especially with my health issues but I am trying so very hard to just be content with what my life is at the moment and happy with what Christ has given me which I thank my lucky stars for each and every night!
Your babies are just presh!! Sorry Sage is colicky and Hunter and Sage have colds....I hope that it passes quick quick!
Uggg I think every mortgage in the country is going up....blech
xoxo
Summer :0)
Great picture! And great thought! It's like the song says, "Just as soon as I get what I want I get unsatisfied..." we all need to work on it I think!
I know exactly what you mean. But the Lord will help you through. Just trust in Him, and it will go the way that He has planned--not how you want it to go.
xoxo,
~bree
love this blog friend! beautiful.
I know how you feel, I've done the same sort of backward reasoning myself! Thank you for the wisdom today!
I love this. So encouraging! I think we all struggle with being content in Christ, but really, He is ALL we need. I'm always waiting for that next big thing to happen in my life...just graduated, then I got a job and moved to a new city...now it's time to get married right? Maybe not--maybe God has a different plan, a plan greater than I could imagine. So today I choose to just be content and live the life He has created for me. He is SO GOOD, and I'm so thankful for sweet women like you that remind me of that daily!
I really needed to here that today! I don't recall if I've commented on your blog before but I do read it often.
I'm graduating from home school {and high school!} at the end of this year and I'm often tempted to want to rush through whatever season of life that I'm going through...my Mom always reminds me to slow down and just enjoy God's blessings in the present. Your post was well-written and thought out. Thanks for sharing! Blessings!
What a wonderful post, Carissa! Thanks so much for the reminder. Have a fabulous Friday! :)
-- Much Love,
Lindsay <3
Such a great attitude to take, but I know how hard it can be to sustain! I will wish for better todays AND tomorrow for you!
I think we all feel the way you feel. We are always looking to the future and what is coming our way instead of enjoying the moment. I think it is just too easy to get caught up. So, thank you for making me be a little more thankful for today :)
I get reflective too during fall... the start of the cool weather and holiday season always makes me reflect on how quick everything is going by... You are right, I often have to remind myself that we were not meant for this world so I will never be totally content until I get to where I really belong, in Heaven with Christ. It really helps when I can keep this perspective! =)
Learning to live in the moment...and every season is sweet...always remembering that seasons come and go...Loved your post
sooooo true. I've been struggling with contentment recently, and this is what Jesus has been teaching me. there are blessings here and now, in this season, and if i continue to long for another season, thinking it will be better, i will miss and possibly even lose the blessings of now.
Oh, Carissa, This sort of goes along with my blog entry today about the stresses of life. You always inspire me and bring a smile to my face. You are just precious! Happy week-end!
Amen, sister! I love this post. You have such a gift and you just bestowed that gift among your many friends - thank you!!
I'm having a season, alright! But, there are blessings all around me and I am doing my darndest to focus on those over these really trying days. Thanks for the reminder ;)
Sorry your little ones have been under the weather. Noah & Noelle both got strep while I was in the hospital so my hubby and our moms having been dealing with lots of patients this week. Good thing God has given them a lot of patience to get through this "season"!
Prayers for you, sweet friend!
Love how you put it, yearning for heaven because life here isn't perfect, and never will be. Thanks for the reminder!
they are such cute noses. :) and it is a life long journey to learn to be content in Christ. great post!
I am so there with ya, girl.
What a great post! It definitely spoke to me today! Beautiful words. Sometimes it's good to just sit back and enjoy the journey! Easier said than done! :)
I needed this post today. I can totally relate to always thinking about the next thing and how each next thing got me closer to where I really wanted to be and that was a mother. Well, I'm 44 and I'm still not a mother, and I'm pretty sure I never will be. When that reality hit me hard, I realized there was no "next thing". I had been to college, gotten married, started a career, and was waiting for babies and then all the events that come with their lives and then grandchildren and so on. When it hit me, looking at my future was like looking at a black wall. I had to adjust and have only been able to do it by God's grace. There is no "next thing" for me, at least not by my previous definition. The next thing is whatever God puts in my path or leads me to. I'm trying to live each day one at a time, but it's terribly difficult to break the habits of hoping for something more. Just today as I was walking down the "wedding" isle at Hobby Lobby looking at items that my newly engaged niece might enjoy, the sting of not being a mother hit hard. I began to think of the wedding I'll never get to help plan for a daughter. The tears welled and I realized it still hurts. Jesus is the something more that I must cling to, but too often I ignore that. This is way more than you needed in a comment box I'm sure, but thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Carissa...what a refreshingly honest post. I have been uniquely humbled by your fewer number of posts, as I've been reminded about the blessings in life that ask more of us and can be beautifully exhausting. Or some times just exhausting! :) I love the heart that you share here on this blog, and what joy I am sure you are bringing God by your dedication and love for your children. Thanks for being an example to us! Struggling with the "newly married" season of life for the past two years has been the biggest surprise I've ever experienced. Certainly didn't see it coming. Wow is God working on me! So anyway, I "amen" your post, and I hear your heart! Praying for you today as you treasure those sweet babies. :)
I feel like I'm in the same spot!
It's nice that you have such a great attitude about it all. A lot of people forget all the things they should be grateful and just dwell and dwell and dwell.
Hope you have a great weekend. :)
You said it! So very true! Good way of putting it! Being content in Christ! That is the best thing. Thanks I needed to read this!
~blessings
Hope you are having a fabulous weekend! Praying for you and the little ones that they get better soon.
~Dorcas
Hi Carissa, I am a new blog follower! I love this post as it is an awesome reminder for me and where I am today. Thank you for sharing your heart!
You're right. 100% right.
As soon as I start desiring earthly perfection my contentment leaves. Once I start resting in the time, this precious time that the Lord has given me NOW then I live fully.
It's not me. It's from Him.
Runny noses can be gifts when viewed through the lens of Christ.
Love you, friend.
Thanks, Carissa, for this wonderful reminder to be thankful. After 10 days on the road and an immense pile of laundry staring at me, I REALLY needed this.
Amen!!! :)
You are such an amazing writer!! And I love your real outlook on life. Hugs my friend! XO
Isn't it amazing how Life shapes out for us? When I have moments like these, I'm reminded to give thanks because our Lord knows that there is awesomeness to whatever point he brings us to!
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