The 12 Days of Christmas - The Gift of Contentment

I have learned the secret of being content.

Philippians 4:12

Months of planning lies in haphazard piles. Weeks of dreaming vanish like a breath. Hours of wrapping litter the floor. 

Christmas is a holiday that takes monumental time to architect and almost no time to execute. No matter how low you try to set your expectations, there exists a natural gap between the effort you put in and the satisfaction that comes out. For many, the late hours of Christmas day leave us feeling...empty.

I find it ironic that contentment contains the word content. Because it's when we focus on the content of our lives or event that we find contentment most elusive. The secret of being content lies in not focusing on content. Instead we have to shift our view from that which passes to that which lasts. 

Moments with Jesus build mountains of faith.

Minutes of prayer bring eternal results.

This Christmas why not steal away with Jesus before the first present is opened? As we shift our hearts from a single day on the calendar to the Eternal One, we move from content to contentment. Let's unwrap this gift together...it lasts.

Contentment Isn't About Content

If they obey and serve Him they will spend their years in contentment.

Job 36:11

"Mommy, when I grow up I want to have four daughters. I want them to be named Hannah, Hayleigh, Clara and Carynne just like us."


Carynne has the gift of contentment. She rarely asks for material possessions and when she does make a request it's for something she wants when "she's grown up like a mom." She can't envision a life better than the one she is living right now.


Can I say I feel the same way with total sincerity? Some days but many times not. I let my heart wander and consider what I have not instead of praising God for what I have.


In Job 39:11, God reveals the formula for contentment is to serve and obey God. Contentment isn't about the content of my life but my response to that content. Obedience and service are two things Carynne knows well. She is the first child to cry when caught in wrongdoing. Punishment is rarely necessary because she has a naturally repentant heart. She wants desperately to obey.


She also serves from a heart filled with kindness. Just last night she rubbed my hand with the intensity of a professional masseuse. This is quite a feat for fingers just four years old. She chose to serve her mommy and give a gift uniquely hers - an act of service.


Because I want to experience true contentment, I want 2012 to be packed with ordinary day filled with opportunities for obedience and service. Today, I say, "God, when I grow up I want to marry Scott Milholland and have daughters named Hannah, Hayleigh, Clara and Carynne. I want to come home to messy stairs and dirty dishes. I want to be overscheduled and overloved. I want to spend too many hours in the carpool line and too few hours at the salon. I want exactly what I have right now. I am content."


Won't you join me today and celebrate the ordinary life you're living? The gift of contentment is sure to follow.