Contentment Revisited

Our vacation was a real eye opener for us as a married couple. For years we have extended ourselves to everyone and everything and often felt nearly burned out. I know personally I was getting seriously overwhelmed and stressed, often feeling like I couldn't say "no" to someone who expected me to do something. It seemed so "un-Christian" not to do every last thing that was expected of me by anyone. Stepping back from some of the ministry activities helped, along with the anticipation of Justin finishing home school this year. Learning to discern what God was actually expecting me to be involved in for His glory and not just being a part of everything because it was expected of me was a hard lesson that took way too many years to learn. Taking a week to just enjoy ourselves, strengthen our loving bonds and work together as a family was such a boost to our fragile psyches so to speak. Since then I have learned the importance of not being available to everyone at the "brring" of the phone. I had not realized how that jangled my nerves and heightened my stress levels almost unconsciously every time the phone would sound off. Ted finally learned that lesson as well with his busy work requirements. I am learning to sit and be still and appreciate the beauty of God's creation around me without feeling like I have be on the moment's ready to jump at someone's beck and call. I am actually able to spend more conscious time praying and praising God. The spirit of contentment is starting to seep back into my soul. I am such a simple, country girl at heart and the hustle and bustle and busyness of modern life has always been taxing for me. Sometimes, I have wondered if I was born in the wrong era :). Tomorrow is Mother's Day and I have enjoyed the special things that the menfolk have done for me. The yard is mowed, my car is washed and cleaned, the boys scrubbed their bathroom floor. James helped me make supper tonight after Ted and I spent the day together. We even enjoyed a long nap together. Wow, that hasn't happened in a very long time. Tonight, Ted and I will work together to fix the Mother's Day dinner that he wants to make for me. I am so glad to be the mother of his children even when they leave us scratching our heads in wonder. God has blessed me abundantly with a super loving husband and 2 great sons. We are all far from perfect, but are definitely a family held together by God. James graduates with a 1 year Bible Diploma from Bible college, and Justin will graduate from High School. At the moment, James is working for CTS tree service, and Justin will get a job as soon as he has diploma in hand :). Ted is working hard so that in a couple of months we can again take a mini-vacation. We really love spending time together and have learned just how precious that is to us. Now, we are going to make it a priority to take time to get away. This is a bit more then just the 'date" days we would try to take. Usually, our dates were just local outings that would last a couple of hours, and then it was hurrying to get back to work and responsibilities. With our vacation, we found that we yearn for more then just dinner out once a week or every two weeks. I spent all of this monologue to state how I have just recently regained that feeling of contentment and the alleviation of stress that was overwhelming me. I can be a better child of God, wife of Ted, and mother of James and Justin if I can remember contentment with thanksgiving.