the joy challenge: life lessons

"Be joyful always..."

I Thes 5:16

Today, I'm thankful for life lessons.

But it's not without some effort.

Part of life is going through challenges, some simple and some more painful.

I've been through both, and neither are much fun.

But He is the potter.

We are the clay.

He molds us into His image, and part of that is allowing us to go through difficult situations. Not only does it build character, but it also causes us to rely solely upon Him. It's easy to want to be in control; to take hold of our own lives. Do our own thing. Accomplish our goals.

But it's not about us.

It never fails that when we attempt to take control, life seems to get a little bit more complicated.

Yet when we surrender ourselves to His will and His path for our lives, we have peace.

Because we realize that God can do a much better job at this whole life thing than we can. And when He's in control, life seems a little less scary. Someone who has way more experience at this is now in control.

We just continue to worship Him, praise Him for his faithfulness, and live according to His will.

My current challenge?

Learning to live simply.

My friend Anna touched on this in her blog tonight.

Apparently, we've been challenged in a lot of the same ways.

My upbringing was a tad... lavish.

Life was good. Even during financially hard times, we never really were hurting.

I was always taught that we weren't entitled to any of it. Everything we had was a blessing.

I didn't move out until I got married. When I still lived at home, I did my own thing, bought my own groceries, etc... but yall know that's nothing compared to the real world. I went into marriage thinking that shopping wasn't a big deal. Bills were magically going to get paid without me worrying about it.

Brad and I both had jobs. What was there to worry about??

I was clueless.

Fast forward to now.

We don't have a lavish life.

We can't have a lavish life. Not right now.

And while part of me wishes there were things I could have, that's all they are... things.

I don't need them.

I don't need new mums to put on the front porch.

I don't need to practice my cooking skills by making some fancy dinner with ingredients we'll only use once.

I don't need more photo equipment.

I don't need new dining room chairs, the cute dancing snowman from Hallmark, or gorgeous nursery decor to spruce up Noah's room.

There are so many things I'd love to buy my husband for Christmas.

I know there are things he'd love to buy me.

But we can't.

Because right now, God is allowing us to go through a life lesson.

To learn to rely on Him, to find satisfaction and wholeness in Him, and to realize that what we really need has nothing to do with money or materials or possessions.

All we need is Him.

Because in Him, we find peace...

we find joy...

we find love...

we find completion...

we find purpose...

and we find what we really need...

And when it's all said and done, none of us are going to wish we were spending our last moments next to our yacht. None of us will wish we'd spent more time making more money for more stuff.

Because that's not what it's about.

And when I get to heaven and get to hug my Savior for the first time, I want Him to be proud of me for putting what really matters first. Not the stuff... but Him. My family. And His kingdom.

"Whom have I in heaven but you?

And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalms 73:25-26