Wednesday, April 2, 2008

The Grass is Greener...

So it all started last week...God started whispering little love words to me about being content.
First I heard Him in the bathroom one night when I was taking my shower. I was looking at my neon green/blue striped walls that I had painted 8 mths ago when we bought our house. I love the frog theme and colors in my bathroom, but I had a feeling i would get tired of it real quicklike. You see when we bought our house, I tried every way possible to cut corners and save money. I had tons of frog decor, bathroom towels, picture frames that matched, so all i had to spend money on was paint....so i went with the frog theme. And I thought, it's okay, I have kids that we're raising, it will be very kid friendly. My husband complains he has to wear sunglasses in there cuz it's so bright...but it sure is cheery!! And guess what...8 mths down the road, and I'm sick of it. So I was complaining to God that I wished I had more money so I could redecorate it...and He whispered to me: Laura, a bathroom is a piddly thing in the greater scheme of life. If you aren't content with the small things, how can you be content with the big things?
And then going to bed that night, he gave me a kick-in-da-rear with what I opened to in the Bible.
"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have." Hebrews 13:5
Okay, Father, I hear You...I will be content with my bathroom frogs awhile longer.

In the greater picture of life...I was talking to 2 different friends over the past couple months that aren't sure they are staying in their marriages. It broke my heart to hear these people say they didn't know if they could stick it out any longer with their spouse.
Friends: hear me when I say this:
"The grass isn't greener on the other side of the fence...it's greener where you fertilize it!"
Some of our marriages take more work than others....I am one of them. I am a very stubborn and strong-willed person, and because of it, I mess up alot. I know that marriage isn't always perfect and there's valleys....but praise God for the mountaintops!!! Every season of life we go thru in our marriage is for a purpose. God may not reveal what exactly it is until we're out of that season. But what we can do, is trust Him that with Him as the center of our marriage...meaning: He is in the driver's seat......that we will get thru those hard times. We have to learn to be content with where we are in life. Get in the Word, pray constantly, quit looking at what everyone else has, and appreciate what God has given you. What makes you think God has someone else out there for you if you can't even get it right with the spouse yer with????
I have also learned that love gets deeper with every trial you go thru with yer spouse...and isn't that what we want in life? To know love at deeper and richer levels?

"Godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6

Love n Hugs...Laura

2 comments:

SLP said...

Laura, last fall I was in a group at Trinity that did a marriage book called, "Sacred Marriage" by Gary Thomas. I definitely reccommend it to anyone thinking of getting married or that is married. It says on the front, "What if God designed marriage to make us Holy more than to make us happy?" I don't know if your friends would read it, but I definitely think it might impact them. Marriage is NOT about our happiness at all!!! Marriage is a COVENANT with God to honor and love one another. This is definitely deep in my heart. That American marriages do not understand what marriage is. Did we ever consider that marriage was to glorify God NOT meet every little need we think we have? I don't mean to sound harsh! If you want to read it, you could borrow mine. Love you!

mjvan said...

This is a great reminder. God has really been speaking to me about being content this week as well. I have been almost consumed with wanting to add on or move, while my husband drags his feet. God gave me Col. 3:2 last night "Set you mind on things above and not on the things on the earth." It really convicted me. I know I need to be submissive to Chris in this area as well. I have to watch my tongue! Love You!