Broken or Content?

Philippians 4:11 “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”

Think about it - When have you been the most content? Has it been after you've been the most broken?

For me, I definitely see a connection. For me, I only became the most content in my life after I was the most broken.

I found that I appreciated more what I had when it was the most threatened. I was so broken that I felt I'd never be whole again......but

BUT

I realized that God I finally listened to God. I began to understand some of His promises:

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4

Until I was broken, I don't think I ever fully grasped the feeling of contentment. Heck, I still struggle with it some even now. You know, the 'grass always seems greener on the side'? We struggle with trying to get to the next step, the next best thing, blah, blah, blah that we fail to enjoy the here and now.

So, seriously - should it take being broken in order to be content. Or should it take watching someone else being broken in order to be appreciate what we have?

Do we become content when it seems as though it's the only choice we have?

What I mean is this......I can look back on my life and figure out exactly when I finally understood how to be content - I mean fully content - peacefully.....It took almost losing my daughter - or living in a constant fear of losing her that I finally gave EVERY single thing to God. I gave every worry, every praise, every concern, every plea - EVERYTHING to Him. I had no choice, but to give it to Him and choose to try my best to appreciate every aspect of life on earth. If not, I would have gone absolutely crazy....living a life like this is not something any human can do alone - or even with a terrific support group. I'm pretty sure it's called faith.....and although there are days that I think - or rather I KNOW that my faith is more absolute than others....I still have that faith. The risk of losing something so precious increased my faith 1,000 fold. It made me more content with ALL of the GOOD in my life and less critical and demanding of things that I don't have.

I think that once you've been really broken and the healing begins that you truly want to do what you can to stop others from being broken - from feeling a pain like that. You want others to see what you see and you want others to be content.....or at least that's how it is for me. I've always waxed and waned with wanting to 'save the world'. I think we all have that in us somewhere....but truly, I want others to love and appreciate and not have to endure pain or suffering in order for it to happen....and it is a more pure feeling for me now.

The strange part is that some times it takes life challenges to make people fully understand it (like myself).

Other times, people get stuck in the brokeness. Some people become broken and lose hope in ever being whole again. They are lost. They don't believe anything could be better. They are cynical and feel unloved. Life is unfair and they are just pawns playing a game here on earth with no hope of eternal freedom.

How do we change that?

We love, encourage, support. We keep telling our stories. We quit judging and pray. We love the broken because they need it the most. We become content with our own lives. We trust. We have faith.

All the proof I need is the story of my life!