...being content...

Several years ago, I sat amidst a small group of women who took time out of their daily lives to gather together and encourage one another.

On this particular evening, one woman began to cry, because she wasn't married and she longed for a husband.

Soon after, another started crying because she was married and was having marital problems.

A while later, another woman began crying because she and her husband were having trouble conceiving.

By the end of the evening, another woman was crying because she was married with kids.

While this might seem like a silly parable, it actually happened.  I'll never forget driving home that night with the words "be content in all circumstances" ringing through my ears. That phrase was fleshed out for me that evening, and I understood it like I never had before.

Over the years, I've seen this phrase play itself out in the lives of friends and acquaintances, providing sweet peace or intense unrest. Though my life is not what I expected, with it's ups and downs and disappointments, I'm not sure that I would love any other life as much as I love this one.

Could it be that the secret to being content in all circumstances is a choice, a choice that we have the power to make, a choice that no one can make for us, a choice that no one can rip from our hands, no matter what the circumstances?

Is contentedness calling you? How will you choose to answer?