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| Essi contentedly relaxing at the pool |
"Well, what do you want to do for the Fourth?" Wow. A world of possibilities. Of course, the first answer is, "What do you want to do?" And the response? "I don't know. Got any ideas?" It's almost a litany at our house. I wonder if it is that way in most relationships? Is one partner usually the main idea person? With us, it seems that way. And the challenge with being the idea person is to have lots of ideas, and not own any one of them fully, until we are both content with a final choice.
So when, on the way home from a day full of annoying errands, I brought up the subject of the Fourth and changed the content of our ritual litany... my beloved knew something was up. I started with, "For the Fourth this year, maybe we could go somewhere quiet and restful?"
"Sounds good."
"Somewhere private and kind of romantic,
with trees, and maybe a private above-ground pool? And maybe fix burgers on the grill?"
"You want to stay home, don't
you?"
"I really do. I want to have a pool day." I am so content to stay home. It's not a disorder, just a preference. There may be some hermitess DNA lurking in my genetic pool.
It
has struck me often how very blessed we are to live in a home that we don't
want to leave. It is quiet and safe,
cozy and peace-filled. It is so easy to
be content in this situation. I'm so
grateful that when we married, my beloved loved this home as much as I have,
and was happy to help it evolve from my home into our home. I have lived in many other places, some far
from this. But I learned to be at home
and content in them as well. I had to
learn that. Sometimes it didn't come
easily or quickly. I do know it is an
important lesson to learn. Over. And over.
And over. (Some lessons are like
that, aren't they?)
Paul the apostle wrote in his letter to the church at Philippi,
Not
that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned
in whatever situation I
am to be content.
Philippians 4.11
To learn to be content whatever
the situation? Are you kidding? When the power goes out and it
is ninety-seven
degrees with eighty-five percent humidity?
Content? I haven't learned that
one
yet. When the car gets a flat tire
on a freezing cold, lonely stretch of road?
Nope. I couldn't
claim contentment then, either. What about
when the knee gave out for the second time and I
was again lying in the recovery room after surgery? That was a tough one. Be home with my
beloved and my dog? Got it. Every single time.
I have a very long way to go to learn to be content in
"whatever situation". I sure
hope God
perfects that in me before the really, really hard stuff comes along.
Meanwhile, I choose to live in daily gratitude for our
marriage, our home, our family, our place
in God's family, our trees, our
freedoms... gratitude is a never-ending
list, isn't it?
Today I am content.
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