Abundance, Need, and "When?"

 

I don't know if you're like me, but I have spent a great deal of my life looking forward to "when". When we'll have children, get a new home, a new appliance, a new piece of furniture, a new ...whatever. Life is short and I seem to have spent a great deal of my life looking forward to the next thing, whatever the next thing might be.

The picture above was taken at a lake in eastern Washington where my husband & I were fishing with our youngest son and his family. ( I caught a really big trout and it was delicious ! ) I thought to myself this is the perfect place to camp and maybe live. Who wouldn't love a classic Airstream travel trailer parked dock-side at a lake chock full of fish just waiting to be caught and pan fried ? A mountain behind the trailer to boot ! I could do this, really. Just looking at this picture makes me happy.

After browsing through all my pictures trapped in our computer files I realized I have the life my husband and I made together with love, with hard work, with planning ( often gone awry ) and also a life full of the hardships and agonies many others suffer , yet still a life of great abundance . Abundance that is NOT of the monetary. I have the desires of my heart and they are not any of my material possessions!

I truly know and understand the saying "life is wasted on the young" ,because if I and my husband had known when we were young what we know now, we would have made so many different choices. Yet we are not made to know in our youth what we know in our older age. And really, if someone had told us we should NOT do this, or we should do that, we would probably have done what we thought best anyway. Such is youth. ( Hey you young things out there, listen again carefully to your elders ! )

So, back to the picture and my dream of living somewhere else , a dream of a different life. Yes, I can dream, and my husband and I dream and plan together, but I truly know I am blessed by God no matter where I live , in the here and now. We have a home we built together with the help of family and friends after a few years of living in a repo single- wide mobile home while we built. Our dream home was crushed by 3 falling trees during a severe storm* a few years ago , and months later repaired. We have an abundance of food but for many years our budget was so slim that out of necessity I found ways to make 3 filling meals for a family of 5 plus company using one store-bought fryer chicken , not to mention ( but I will ) another frequent dinner ~ my husband's least favorite meal, tuna noodle casserole. We now have more material possessions than we need and plenty of food. Abundance and lack are temporal conditions and not necessary for happiness or contentment. We know that where we live does not determine our happiness , but Who we trust our lives to does.

Our true abundance and contentment lies in Him~ Jesus, and all He has given of Himself. Only His life, for us. The "When" ? Now and forever redeemed in spite of ourselves. John 3:16

"I know how to get along with humble means , and I also know how to live in prosperity, in any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. ( Jesus ) ." Philippians 4: 12, 13

Rainy Day Flowers

 After a busy few weeks tending the gardens , poultry, & livestock during the very ( unseasonably )warm sunny days the rain I love has finally returned ! Now instead of endless watering and weeding outdoors I am cultivating indoor flowers . Fanciful flowers I needle-felt onto wool balls I've made using the wool fleece from my sheep.

 I added a few fanciful bees too. None of the flowers or bees are crafted to be realistic, but they are meant to be fun. Some of the balls have jingles inside. My cats love the jingle balls. So do my grandchildren.

I enjoyed spinning up quite a bit of yarn on the porch during the warm days. I can watch my sheep and the birds at our feeder from the porch. I watch my ducks waddle by on their way from the pond to scavenge any birdseed the wild birds scatter under the feeders. Two of my dogs are always at my feet as I spin wool into yarn. Contentment and thankfulness are my constant companions during these times.

Whether cultivating indoor flowers or working hard outdoors , I am always mindful of the blessing it is to be able to do this work in and around a home provided by God through the love and hard work of my husband and family. Thank-you Jim !

To Live Content....

~"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy , not respective, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to the stars and birds, to babes and sages with open heart; to bear on cheerfully, do all bravely, awaiting occasions, worry never;..." William Henry Channing

~ The last post is a thinking, or writing out loud...in print. Very publicly too. I do trust in God to work all things out to His glory, and in my life,as I think back on the years I know He has. ~The relative who lost his job is not afraid because his faith AND life experience have proven God is faithful. We have a young woman who meets with us in our home fellowship who is employed by a large company currently in the midst of major downsizing. Every week she still has her job, she thanks God and then trusts he will care for her if she discovers she has lost it. ~Mary from Annie's Goat Hill has a wonderful post discussing just where I was going with last nights' post but I got too wordy to go on writing. Please check out her blog today. Anyway, my daughter and I were talking about how these times are definitely giving us all a nudge ( or maybe a BIG push) in the direction of taking stock of what is important and just what we really need, or do NOT need in our lives. ~For me and many others, the important things cannot be measured by the size of our bank account, or what the world calls 'success'. How I deal with the not so nice things life sends my way, or God allows , is really one of the measures , or tests of life. Am I still trusting when things go bad? ~As Mary and my daughter have said, this is kind of ( understatement?) an exciting time for us. A time for re-thinking our priorities and goals and vision for our families and communities. Also, this is a time to come together with those we love and those who are like minded to support and encourage others to live simply and with great contentment.

~ Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said " I will never leave you or forsake you." So that we confidently say " The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid, what shall man do to me?" ....and "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today , yes and forever." Hebrews 13: 5,6,8

Spot of Contentment

~Today was one of those Sundays I long for when life gets too hectic, and the problems of this world seem too much to bear. A quiet respite, and not a bad way to spend most days.... ~It rained outside and inside I had a fire in the wood stove and was settled on the sofa, working on a rug I am almost finished with while listening to an audio book. I looked into our picture window where darkness had settled outside, and the window appeared to be a mirror reflecting what was going on inside our home. I could see myself happily working on the rug while my Hubby was busy in the kitchen making us dinner. He LOVES to cook, so I know he was happy too. As I gazed at the reflection of this moment in our lives I realized how content I am with the life God has chosen to bless us with. I love my husband. I love the home he has built for me and I love the quiet times we are able to spend together. I quickly put the rug aside and grabbed my camera to take a picture of this moment in time.And now I share it with you. ~Here my Hubby is sharing a treat with his buddy Hawk. "Content: Rest and quietness of the mind under existing circumstances; present satisfaction; contentment." Funk & Wagnalls ~Hubby made this delicious dinner. Braised halibut steaks, fresh steamed asparagus with butter and Parmesan cheese, his own rice dish with vegetables, and Green Onion and Fontina Arancini, or rice balls with cheese in the middle, YUM! The recipe for these is in the 2/2009 issue of Sunset Magazine. "But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content." I Timothy 6: 6-8 Blessings: rainy afternoons when we can stay home, Hubby cooking, contentment in the midst of trials