Are you content?

“To be content doesn’t mean you desire to have more, it means you’re thankful with what you have and patient for what’s to come.” –  Tony Gaskins

PSA: I wrote this blog post exactly a week ago (24/7/17). Took me awhile to actually post it, because I wasn’t merely ready to share such a personal event that’s not only mine but my also my family’s. This is my testimony…

Its taken me awhile to think of a really great post to write and share. Particularly a specific topic I feel I have experienced well enough to share & elaborate about. This next blog post was utterly spur of the moment. My brain was literally vomiting words at 7:19AM on a Monday morning, in a train semi-full after pondering on the word content. I thought to myself, am I content with where I am at life? Content with what I have?

To be content is easier said then being done. I say this out of experience because I use to say or think I was content until one day I wanted more, I wanted bigger & I wanted better. I supposed it’s okay to want a better shot at life, being successful etc. but when do I draw the line and just be happy with where I am and just take life as God gives it and just work harder to be better rather than have better?

My journey or road to discover that I had become the very person I did not want to be began during September 2015 when our rental contract for the 3 bedroom house my family and I called home for almost 5 years had come to an end. Left with no alternative but to find another house to call home. Around this time I had been working at my first ever office job, for my Great Aunt as her administrative assistant whilst“trying” to adapt to first year of studying at university (i’ll save that for another post). Accumulating my own income, my thoughts were running wild on all the possible things I could accomplish that required money. RSA licence. New bedroom furniture. Flasher clothes. New phone. New shoes. A car? Yes indeed a very materialistic list. It was then when I became discontent, subconsciously unaware that I was the very person I didn’t want to be.

Due to the contract being void at the end of the month, we literally had a week to find a place to move. This all happened, leading up to our church’s annual Australia Conference, held in Gold Coast. One week till the conference, as well as find a house to move into. Parents were worried for multiple reasons (but we all know more so my mum lol),  but my siblings & I on the other hand had no clue of the severity if we had not vacated the premises before leaving for the conference. Had we not, we’d probably would have not been able to go back and collect our valuables. Due to the short time span, we moved into a 2 bedroom house that had been vacant for a couple of months and belonged to one of my father’s many acquaintances.

From a 3 bedroom spacious house with a swimming pool, to a small house with 2 bedrooms and a car sales yard as our backyard, it was a massive change and shift to our normality. It’s sad to say & look back that I was very unhappy. Unhappy that I had to share a bedroom with my sister and brother. That I had no privacy or place to hang my clothes or display my shoes. For awhile I was so used to having my own little space to wind down, & just have to myself, I forgot what it was like to share a bed or bedroom. I remember the first few weeks in this new “temporary house” we’d call home, I’d complain day in day out that it was too small, that our boxes & strip bags (every Fob household would surely own a couple & have stored away in their garage lol) were constantly in the way, that we had no place to hide or store everything so that we could invite friends over. I remember being ashamed to tell my closest friends or even show them our “temporary house”. And if they did come over, I’m sure I repeated this phrase numerous of times “Oh its our temporary house till we find a bigger place to move into.” A friend one day came over & snapped me to my senses that it was better then sleeping outside. It wasn’t probably until last mid-year after moving there that I realised that I complained way to much then I should of & that I didn’t realise that this small house was a blessing in disguise. Life’s test for my family or more so for myself I should say. I then began to shift my perspective & really appreciate that there was a roof over my head & lets face it that I’m able to even be still living at home with my parents at 21 lol. (they’ll never get rid of me)

Fast-forwarding 20 months later, we’ve finally moved into a bigger house to accommodate my entire family. Woo, FINALLY! Whilst packing up our belongings that were scattered everywhere, it made me reminiscence about the amount of times I complained but more so of the times we’d fight over & shotgun the bathroom over who got to use it first lol. In a blink of an eye, we shifted our normality once again from one corner of Western Sydney to the other.

This 2 bedroom house has taught me a lesson:

2. Disguised blessing – I honestly started to think God was punishing my family for not answering our prayers for a bigger house and for that I didn’t see the bigger picture. God sometimes has to bring us down to allow us to get closer to Him. Maybe my family and I was not seeking God enough that He allowed us to downgrade & start from the bottom to be able to truly appreciate something greater and bigger. How can God trust us with something bigger & greater when we can’t even appreciate something small? My Pastor, is an inspiration when it comes to taking a leap of faith and being content. A lot of people pointed fingers and attempted to plant negative thoughts when He proposed his calling was to plant a church in the heart of Sydney. Left & right people, would plant discouragement. That he wouldn’t be able to afford rent or find a property to house the congregation every Sunday for worship.  However that did not waver him. From day one till today He constantly reminds us that “great things always start small”. Until you can learn to appreciate the small things, God will grant your every desires. Yes, my church is still on that journey of growth just as the church next door, & until then, I guess we as a church family will all be learning to appreciate each other & how we all can play apart in it’s growth. So when you get put into an uncomfortable, unexpected position in life whether it be living standards (in my instances) look at it as, God blessing you in small doses & preparing you for when success, achievement or reward comes.
4. Gods Children are highly favoured – “… For the Lord your God goes with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you…” – Deuteronomy 31:6 His word surely stands today and forever more. Two things could’ve happened if we had not moved before attending the conference. One – loosing everything we owned and two no place to call home (better word to put it – homeless). This scripture is a testament to God’s Grace and that He is sufficient and more than enough for us. When my family needed him the most, He was there listening & provided our very need. Even though it took me awhile to wrap my head around it & appreciate it, He never failed to provide.
6. 3rd world problems are minor setbacks–Having a decent roof over your head, food on the table, clothes on your back, shoes on your feet, freedom to worship God  etc, is far better then someone else living in a war-torn country or the person that is living on the streets. Seeing news articles and coverage on whats happening around the world, definitely gave a reality check. Life’s too short to be moping around wishing we had a bigger house or to be like other glamorous people we follow on Instagram.

Maybe you to are going through a similar circumstance, or maybe just having a hard time appreciating life in generally. Look at it this way, if you’re not in the position or time frame you’d hope to be, just remember this “Every season serves a purpose”. I hope my experience can teach or remind you to be content today.

Day 3 in our house and counting. To new beginnings and appreciating the small things in life.

Till my next post, Au Reviour!