Learning Contentment and the Lure of Legos
Psalm 16:5-8
5 LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup;
you make my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the LORD.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
“Please, momma. Just one small box of Legos?”
A vision of our basement flashed before me, overwhelmed with toys. The floor was covered with bricks of every imaginable color. Half-built buildings sat abandoned, mini-figures forgotten. As I stood in the check-out line with a child in tow, I knew the answer for more must be no.
The struggle to accept what we have as “enough” is as old as the earth itself. We are often more aware of what others own than we are of what we have ourselves. We see bigger homes, nicer cars, calmer kids, happier days in the lives of those all around us. But the blessings flowing through our own days and nights goe unnoticed, unseen, unappreciated.
Psalm 16:5-6 offers wisdom that can help us to settle right where we are. Our lives are surrounded by beautiful boundaries that are just right for us today, especially when our gaze falls not on others, but on the Giver of all good things.
Because:
• My dinner may not be fancy, but there is food on my family table.
• My clothes may have seen better days, but I am warm and comfortable.
• My home may not be beautiful, but it is protection and shelter for those within.
• My budget may be tight, but my purchases are planned and needed.
• My children may not be perfect, but our life together is a journey of ups and downs I get to travel each day.
These boundary lines are drawn in perfect places--perfect for me, perfect for them, perfect gifts from God above. And, in reality, what I need more than anything else is what God offers freely to me. Grace upon grace. Salvation from my sins. His love, sufficient for me. Knowing this, my cup overflows.
Today, let’s focus on the gifts and not on the neighbors, on the blessings and not the deficiencies. Let’s talk with our children, teaching them to think less about acquiring and more about appreciating so that they, too, can learn to see the hand of God freely offering us what we need today.
Nothing more. Nothing less. Just enough.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, Thank you for providing what we need and drawing our boundary lines in pleasant places. Help us to turn to you to meet our need and to find, in You, all that really matters today. In Your name, Amen.
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Resources
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Successful Step Families
Step families come with a variety of challenges to weather from the moment they say “I do.” Ron Deal addresses specific challenges and offers biblical insight as well as clinical experience as a marriage and family therapist to help equip couples for the journey ahead. He offers hope and encouragement for helping families navigate establishing working relationships within the new family as well as with the extended family.
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Marriage is a gift
http://glendora.patch.com/articles/your-marriage-is-a-gift Advice for weathering the storms of marriage from the Glendora Patch
"More importantly, if it is so difficult, why bother trying to make marriage work? For starters, it is one of the greatest gifts you can give your children. Research consistently shows that children tend to fare better in married, two-parent households. The investment you make in your marriage not only rewards you and your spouse, the dividends spill over to your children as well"
