His eye is on the sparrow
Daniel and I have been talking lately about our wish lists. I think everyone has one - a running list of things that you would like to have to improve your quality of life. Luxury items, maybe. (I don't think "graham crackers" qualifies as a wish list item unless you don't have food, and if you are reading my blog and you have no food, you need to prioritize.)
Daniel's wish list and mine are really different. He wants a giant monstrosity of a television, I want leatherbound classic books. He wants a gun safe big enough to park a car in, I want a weekend with no laundry. The problem with wish lists is that they can leave the wisher feeling eternally dissatisfied, and that is what we are struggling with.
It is really hard to balance contentment with our drive to move forward. Of course, we all want better things for ourselves, right? Even Oprah searches for new things to make her life better.
God wants us to be content with the blessings we have. He wants us to recognize that they ARE blessings! The dashboard of my car is a mess - lights malfunction all the time. But that car is a blessing! It is safe. It gets my family from place to place. It is affordable and economical. And God provided that car when I wasn't working and we were living off one income! It is a blessing!
Oh, but how I would love to drive a huge SUV with leather interior and a DVD player! I would love to get the car detailed every Saturday morning while I get my nails done! (Those things are on my wish list.) But God is teaching me to be content with my life now. Content with my home, my car, my clothes, my shoes, my hair, and my yard. It is amazing that I even HAVE those things.
I am writing all of this, not because I live it, but to remind myself. What are the blessings that you have overlooked lately?
Daniel's wish list and mine are really different. He wants a giant monstrosity of a television, I want leatherbound classic books. He wants a gun safe big enough to park a car in, I want a weekend with no laundry. The problem with wish lists is that they can leave the wisher feeling eternally dissatisfied, and that is what we are struggling with.
It is really hard to balance contentment with our drive to move forward. Of course, we all want better things for ourselves, right? Even Oprah searches for new things to make her life better.
God wants us to be content with the blessings we have. He wants us to recognize that they ARE blessings! The dashboard of my car is a mess - lights malfunction all the time. But that car is a blessing! It is safe. It gets my family from place to place. It is affordable and economical. And God provided that car when I wasn't working and we were living off one income! It is a blessing!
Oh, but how I would love to drive a huge SUV with leather interior and a DVD player! I would love to get the car detailed every Saturday morning while I get my nails done! (Those things are on my wish list.) But God is teaching me to be content with my life now. Content with my home, my car, my clothes, my shoes, my hair, and my yard. It is amazing that I even HAVE those things.
I am writing all of this, not because I live it, but to remind myself. What are the blessings that you have overlooked lately?
posted by Amanda
at
8:56 PM
5 Comments:
I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes hubby and I have to remind each other to remind ourselves of our blessings.
I like to remember that what we were blessed with allows us to give to others. I want to pass that lesson on to our girls.
I do, however, wish for a maid to clean house top to bottom once a month someday!
I have overlooked many blessings. Thanks for the reminder!!! Thanks for stopping by my blog today. We need many more teachers like you. Sam's early childhood special ed teacher from last year is working on her masters in teaching Autism. Minnesota offers that! We are so excited for her. She was fabulous before. You do a hard job that I could never do. Special education teachers are special!
I loved this post!!!
Thanks for the reminder.
My wish list, at this moment? An instant weight loss pill. :)
i know, sometimes or often times i mean, i / we are just never content. suddenly after reading your post, i am thankful for so many things - my work (which i always rant about - my bad. so many people are jobless), my home.
but what will forever be on my wishlist would be my mom and dad's presence. boy do i wish they were still alive :(
ah, a maid. or domestic assistant. cleaning is the thorn in my side, because it can NEVER be clean enough.
*sigh*
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