To continue with the thoughts on contentment in my previous post …

No matter what it is that we want, as soon as we get it, we want something else. I knew this was going to happen but I didn’t realize it would take place so quickly. We haven’t even started demolition on the kitchen yet, but in my mind I’ve already moved on to other projects. The kitchen now is the least of my concerns. It has to get done; it’s going to get done. There is other work that I keep trying to lump into this project because suddenly it NEEDS to be done … NOW. The kitchen is not enough anymore. As we’ve discussed other plans, I’ve become excited about the potential extra space and comfort, including an upstairs addition–a third bedroom for us so the kids don’t have to share anymore (a legitimate request but not a neccesity yet), remodeled porch (well, it IS rotting) and a breezeway for the front entrance (so we don’t have to worry about hitting the dining room chairs when we open the door). Of course, nothing comes cheap. It has become a problem because my husband keeps injecting this reality into my fantasy! Did I mention we haven’t even started yet?

McDonald writes in Lord, Change My Attitude: Before Its Too Late: “When desires for something are controlling you, you lose your capacity to discern sufficiency.” The more you get, the more you want. Before we had begun the process of remodeling the kitchen, I hadn’t once thought that we needed a breezeway (I thought only of a new kitchen and how wonderful life would be!). Now, I know I’m going to be disappointed, a little or a lot I am not sure, when I don’t get one. I’m not saying the desires I have are bad or sinful, but my attitude can be. What am I living for? In the end, I know I want what’s best for our family. I can trust that God does, too. So, I simply need to rely on Him for what we need and let Him be in control of what’s sufficient for us. It may not be the same as my plan. But it will be the best plan for me and my family. That will always be enough.

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:12