I was miserable from the very first day at our new residence. We knew nobody. The neighbors who did move in, were not people who we shared the same values as us. I had problems with the schools and the staff did not seem to care. I missed my family, terribly. I would cry myself to sleep every night, because I was so homesick. One day, my sister in law sent me a Biblical devotion page in the mail. The story talked about contentment. I called to thank her, still unsure why she had sent it to me. She told me that in life, there will be times that our situations are not idealistic, but we have no power to immediately change things outside of our own perspective. She lovingly told me to suck it up and make the best of my situation, for the good of my family. I took her advice and tried to focus on the positive aspects of our new life. It is a good thing that I took her advice, because the housing market crashed and we would have never had the chance to move back anyway.

I see so many people who practice the “Bigger, Better, More” theory and cheat themselves out of contentment. Like me, they are so busy looking at what they are missing out on, that they fail to see what they already have and how wonderful it is. If only they would focus on their blessings instead of  the lack of having all that their hearts desire, life might be a little more rose colored. As the great musician, Sheryl Crow, says, “It’s not having what you want. It’s wanting what you’ve got.” I’m not implying that I never have to struggle with wanting more or better. I certainly do, at times. It is human nature. However, I do not let the lack of such, make my life miserable. Life is too short to spend it looking around for the pot of gold, when your own pot is overflowing with blessings of many different colors!

Post from: Thrifty Mommy