Better yet...have you LEARNED to be content?
In Philippians 4:11, Paul tells us, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."
We live in a very tiny house and on a very meager income, but for the first six years that we lived in Liberal (we've lived here for over 13 years now), our family of 8 lived in an old ramshackle, 4-room, 640 sq. ft. house out in the country that was, literally, falling in. In fact, it was slated to be bulldozed when we moved into it, and it WAS bulldozed after we left to make room for a brand new rental home! We took the house as "temporary" housing until we could find "something better."
There was a huge hole in the kitchen ceiling, the kitchen floor had dropped four inches below the cabinets (you could see underneath the house when you were standing in the kitchen), all the walls were termite-ridden (you could, literally, poke your finger through them) and, every spring, the termites swarmed...INSIDE the house, the walls were cracked where they joined together and you could see daylight through them, there were holes in the floor under the kitchen sink and bathtub (every kind of animal imaginable visited us...opossums, raccoons, skunks, snakes...you name it...it was like having our own "Wild Kingdom" zoo...INSIDE THE HOUSE), and there was no heat (we put in a wood stove and filled every crack with whatever we could...old rags, newspaper, etc...we plasticed EVERYTHING...and, still, we about froze to death out there). Today I often wonder...how in the world did we ever make it??? It was awful! And I was so depressed! But there was nothing! NOTHING else became available to us! (And many of you here probably remember when we lived back in that house, and the miraculous story of how God moved us out of there! PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME! I STILL thank Him almost daily for our dear, little house here! Praise His holy name! Thank you, Father God! Thank you! We made the final payment on it within four years of moving in!!!!!!!!!!) The point is...the Lord kept us there, in that ramshackle, old house for six, loooooonnnnngggg years...until we truly...in our hearts...LEARNED to be content.
And, let me tell you, it took awhile! We had come from the Kansas City suburbs. My husband worked for the City of Blue Springs. We lived in a nine-room (5 bedroom) house...had central air, central heat, a dishwasher, garbage disposal...everything! We left it all to come here and start this ministry.
Let me ask you...are you content with the things that the Lord has given to you today? Or are you among the modern set...always wanting what you can't have...always wanting more, more, more...trying to keep up with everyone around you...no matter what it costs? You don't have to answer these questions out loud, but be honest. The Lord already knows your heart.
In Philippians 4:11, Paul tells us, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."
We live in a very tiny house and on a very meager income, but for the first six years that we lived in Liberal (we've lived here for over 13 years now), our family of 8 lived in an old ramshackle, 4-room, 640 sq. ft. house out in the country that was, literally, falling in. In fact, it was slated to be bulldozed when we moved into it, and it WAS bulldozed after we left to make room for a brand new rental home! We took the house as "temporary" housing until we could find "something better."
There was a huge hole in the kitchen ceiling, the kitchen floor had dropped four inches below the cabinets (you could see underneath the house when you were standing in the kitchen), all the walls were termite-ridden (you could, literally, poke your finger through them) and, every spring, the termites swarmed...INSIDE the house, the walls were cracked where they joined together and you could see daylight through them, there were holes in the floor under the kitchen sink and bathtub (every kind of animal imaginable visited us...opossums, raccoons, skunks, snakes...you name it...it was like having our own "Wild Kingdom" zoo...INSIDE THE HOUSE), and there was no heat (we put in a wood stove and filled every crack with whatever we could...old rags, newspaper, etc...we plasticed EVERYTHING...and, still, we about froze to death out there). Today I often wonder...how in the world did we ever make it??? It was awful! And I was so depressed! But there was nothing! NOTHING else became available to us! (And many of you here probably remember when we lived back in that house, and the miraculous story of how God moved us out of there! PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME! I STILL thank Him almost daily for our dear, little house here! Praise His holy name! Thank you, Father God! Thank you! We made the final payment on it within four years of moving in!!!!!!!!!!) The point is...the Lord kept us there, in that ramshackle, old house for six, loooooonnnnngggg years...until we truly...in our hearts...LEARNED to be content.
And, let me tell you, it took awhile! We had come from the Kansas City suburbs. My husband worked for the City of Blue Springs. We lived in a nine-room (5 bedroom) house...had central air, central heat, a dishwasher, garbage disposal...everything! We left it all to come here and start this ministry.
Let me ask you...are you content with the things that the Lord has given to you today? Or are you among the modern set...always wanting what you can't have...always wanting more, more, more...trying to keep up with everyone around you...no matter what it costs? You don't have to answer these questions out loud, but be honest. The Lord already knows your heart.
You know, Friend, I've found that when I quit struggling with God over things. When I choose to be content until I am content, God moves not only in my heart, but often in my circumstances as well.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Laura
Wow, I can't imagine that. It reminds me of a story that my dad has about the time that he made a bedroom door out of cardboard. They couldn't afford one so they made due. What a lesson to be learned. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThe ceiling and inside walls of our shed out back right now are made of thick, corrugated cardboard. It was that way when we moved in and we've never changed it. It's old and brittle, but, at the time, I'm sure it was very nice. Whoever lived here long ago was smart! I pray that their resourceful and thriftiness rubs off on me! :)
ReplyDeleteLook where you live now! I've seen some of your photos of your home. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteBlessed to be a blessing!
Laura
Where we live now certainly isn't big or fancy, Laura, but the floors and walls are solid, the roof doesn't leak, and it's certainly warmer and cozier than anywhere we've lived since leaving Blue Springs. I love our "little house on the prairie", but it needs some sprucing up and we hope to get to some of that as soon as possible.
ReplyDelete