Someone once told me that happiness is like a bubble. You try to catch it, if even for an instance. Unfortunately, the moment your hand reaches its destination, the bubble bursts. In other words, happiness is an illusion. We spend our whole lives trying to attain it, only to realize that it is impossible to achieve.
Why does happiness seem impossible? It’s because it is dependent on our circumstances, which are constantly changing. Contentment is what we need to be pursuing. What’s the difference? True contentment is a choice; it’s not dependent on circumstances. It’s not even dependent on the people in our lives. It’s a deliberate choice to live each day filled with joy. It’s because we have been made in the image of God and we are on this earth for such a short period of time. We have a great purpose to serve while we are here, and our time here is preparation for an eternity in Heaven. We were bought at a price greater than we can comprehend and God doesn’t make junk.
Many of us get caught up in the comparison game. We see others’ lives as somehow better than our own. We look at their lives through pictures on social media and adopt a “grass is greener on the other side” mentality. We forget that everyone has a story, and no one has a “perfect” life.
Rather than looking for ways to “outlive” each other, we need to look for ways to enrich one another. We should live each day searching for our unique purpose on this earth and how God wants to use us in the lives of others.
As the wife of someone who has many physical limitations, it can be a real challenge to follow my own advice. I look at others and if I’m not careful, find myself coveting the lives of people who are able to do things that a wheelchair makes very difficult, sometimes impossible. The thing is, nothing good comes from wanting what you don’t have and feeling frustrated by limitations. If we instead look at our challenges as part of the fulfillment of God’s work in our lives, we are much closer to living a life of contentment.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that this is a process. It doesn’t happen overnight and it is not easy. We need God every single day to even come close, because we can’t do it on our own.
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