Contentment

Being content is a major part of a good marriage, and learning to count your blessings is good for every circumstance. If your mom asks you to fold laundry when you really wanted to read that book you just got, you can either pout and frown while you do your chore, making it miserable for yourself and everyone around you, or you can do it with a cheerful smile and everything will go so much quicker. Believe me, I am not perfect, and this is one of my hardest issues. But it really works!

I highly dislike to do a number of things, including my chores. I have tried being grumpy, and it only prolongs the process, makes me careless, makes me miserable, and then I start thinking bad things about mom. 'Why is she ordering me around? She doesn't have school work, she doesn't write books, she doesn't have a zillion and three other things to do...all she does is sit on the couch eating bonbons all day!" And it gets worse.

However, if I'm cheerful, I can see more easily how I'm blessed more then I can imagine. I guess I'd better be thankful for dirty dishes to load into the dishwasher, because that means we have food to dirty them. And these weeds really aren't that bad, imagine how good the tomatoes will taste when they're ripe! My whole day lightens up when I'm being cheerful and acting like a proper young maiden.

Contentment is a lesson we should all learn (me especially) before we marry our prince. Because not all of us will be blessed with a castle to live in. Maybe some of us will be blessed with a little straw hut, or with no home at all. Being grumpy and discontent will cause us to miss out on the little things that make straw huts or the life of a nomad precious, like spending time with your prince, or watching a sunset. Instead, you'll be thinking how much better it would be to have a working dishwasher, or an actual garden with something other then weeds in it. If you grumble at having to change yet another of Mary's diapers or having to drop what your doing to give Johnny yet another push on the swing, you won't bother to ponder their importance. What if Johnny or Mary died? There'll be no more swings or dirty diapers. And if they don't die, there will come a time when they will be grown and out of the house. Then you'll remember all the missed opportunities to train Mary to be a princess and Johnny to be a prince--because you were to busy complaining.

Opportunities to practice being content:

While doing chores. Smile and be pleasant, think of all the benefits of chores. Laundry? Well, be thankful you have clothing. Have to watch a younger sibling? Be thankful that you have a younger sibling to watch.

While in hard situations. Always count your blessings, but especially in hard situations. If you lost a loved one, instead of blaming God and asking him why, praise God for all the good times you had with them.

In everthing. Does this need further explanation? In everything give praise to God, not just when the going's good.

Remember, princesses are not always bathed in luxury. Think of Snow White, cheerfully doing housework for the dwarves in the woods. Or Aurora, being raised as a peasant-girl. The Disney movies may show them blissfully picking roses among the woods or making gooseberry pies, but their lives were much harder then that! Or all the real life princesses, such as Pocohantas and Elizabeth I, Esther, and many more. Pocohantas put her life on the line and was kidnapped, Elizabeth was kept under guard by her sister who hated her, and Esther had to keep her identity secret, and later had to confront the king to save her people. Did they complain of their hard lot and do nothing?

Here are some Scripture verses on contentment:

Philippians 4:10-13

Hebrews 13:5

I Timothy 6:6-8

There are so many more!

In Christ,

Princess Izori