Once Upon A Time....

There lived a young woman all alone, until she met her prince.  And everyone often said, when your prince comes...happily ever after DOES exist. But they didn't tell you the rest of the story.

Happily ever after isn't a state of being...it is an act of contentment when life is hard.

Yes, contentment in the good times, and bad. Contentment in sunshine and rain. Contentment during rain or lighting.  

Contentment........what is it"

con·tent·ment
noun1.the state of being contented;  satisfaction; ease of mind.2.Archaic . the act of making contentedly satisfied.

 It is a state of being, a choice. It is more than just an action, it is a mind set.  We have to choose contentment. It is an act of being contentedly satisfied. This means it is a choice. 

Is it easy........NO.  

It is hard to be content sometimes and not utterly lose your mind. Like when your 11 year old has putt of doing an assignment then gets overwhelmed to the point of tears. You want to act in frustration instead of contentment. There is a choice, one can act in frustration and make the problem. The other choice is to choose to act out of contentment. The upset child and the unfinished assignment is a temporary problem. With guidance and loving discipline the problem can be resolved. Will everyone be happy? Most likely, NO. Because in bringing about correction in the child, the child will be unhappy. You may or may not still be upset that you even had to remind said child 1000 times to do the assignment. BUT...you can be 

....

.....

CONTENT.  

You can find contentment in that the Father is helping you teach your child the things that will get him far in life.  You can find satisfaction when the child completed what was supposed to be done because you acted like a parent and pushed the issue.

It is in parenting one finds what contentment is all about.  You can be so frustrates as a parent you wish YOU could lay in the floor and throw a tantrum or create the drama your child is showing (even if he doesn't throw it in the floor at 11). That is an option. Probably not one the kids or the neighbors would like. They might call the men in the white truck with the special backwards jacket. So that probably...isn't the right choice.  

The other choice is to use it to teach the child.

In marriage, contentment is choosing to enjoy your spouse even when you are so mad you wish you could build a dog house to stick them in. Seeing as we don't have one.  (No I have not had a fight with Mike). Or you can choose to call on Jesus in the middle of the situation showing you are content in HIM to help you through.

And therein lies the key to contentment..............JESUS!  He is the only way for contentment to be found.  

Contentment does not mean the problems will go away and magically disappear. It means you can lie down next to the Master in the boat and sleep while the tempest rages.  It means through prayer you find communion to put the mind at ease, despite the crashing waves.

Contentment means when the storm is at its' worst you are sitting at the Master's feet, waiting for the still small voice. 

That brings us back to......Once Upon a Time love brought  a TRUE story and not a fairy tale, that Jesus said

"Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" Matthew 11:28

That my friends is CONTENTMENT.

Lord, let me be content in my journey, no matter what storms blows and the sea rages, let me find  rest in our and give control and the load of my burdens.

Jesus,take my hand and let me hold it in complete contentment as my children just walk up and slip their wee hands into mine, knowing they are safe and secure.