Keep your lives from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” –Hebrews 13:5

I’m learning in this in-between waiting period that God is working in my life to shape my trust in Him, to learn to align my heart with God’s will, and to connect more deeply with the one who created me and gave me the talents and skills to show others God’s love.

I have found it starts with contentment. In life, you can’t just move on to the next thing when life gets boring. Maybe being a 20-something, I have had the luxury to move where I want, when I want, and to do what I want all going with the spirit blowing life into my sails guiding me along the way.

I have been constantly moving, constantly looking towards the future, moving me closer to my next destination and next goal. It’s great to be goal-oriented, and moving towards meeting my goals, however, there is a moment when I have to settle down, allow roots to grow and be content.

And with not knowing my next step, I’m learning contentment. I’m learning that I may not always get to pick up and move when I’m looking for something different or new because I may not always have that luxury. In the future I may have a mortgage, a family, job commitments and so picking up and moving may not be an option. But an option in those moments is to reflect on what I can do to find contentment in my situation to bring new excitement and positive energy.

Professionally, to find contentment I need to find those things in my job that get me excited and focus on spending more time being productive in those areas. It’s up to me to find excitement out of the work I do and keep a positive attitude. I will not have the opportunity to get a new position every time I get bored with what I’m doing. A new job may give excitement in the beginning, but will wear off again, so it’s important to learn how to gain contentment in career by being responsible for my own professional development to keep things exciting, new, and challenging.

In finances, I need to find contentment in what I have. Knowing that I have a roof over my head, clothes on my back, a car that gets me around, and food in my fridge, reminds me that I have more than enough and that I don’t need to constantly be looking towards gaining more, but appreciating what I currently have. It means taking care of my possessions to make them last longer, and living on less. Living simply means that I can take my “extra” and be a blessing to others and give to where God needs my resources.

I am beyond blessed and I’m focusing on what I have, instead of focusing on what I don’t have. It’s important to list my blessings, and praise God for what He has blessed me with and finding contentment in that. I have more than enough!

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” – 1 Timothy 6:6-8