For Now, It’s OK

“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Phillipians 4:11-13

Happy Mother’s Day! Mother’s Day is one of my favorite celebrations, for a couple of reasons. First, my mom is the greatest mother in the whole world and no one will ever be able to convince me otherwise. Second, I was born on Mother’s Day and every year she reminds me that I made her a mother for the first time on Mother’s Day. Every year I celebrate it and her with the utmost joy, but sometimes with a little sadness. Why sadness? Because I myself have yet to experience the joy of motherhood and last year I experienced a low I never have before as I faced the possibilities of it never happening. It rocked me to my core and I’m still recovering from that on an emotional, mental, and sometimes physical level.

Think about your own dream. Whether its starting a family, owning a house, getting a doctorate degree, starting that business, or running a marathon, there’s something to be said about being on the path to that accomplishment, but not quite there. It can be scary, unnerving, anxious, infuriating, and maybe even depressing. And all of those emotions are glaring at you as you stumble through life trying to make it to the next level. But there’s another emotion that we often forget to experience when we are on our life’s journey: Satisfaction. Where is the part when we are Satisfied with where we are in the moment? Why can’t we see what we’ve done and celebrate it? Instead of looking at our journey with pride, we look at everyone else’s and think that what we’ve done just isn’t Satisfying.

Why is that? Why have we convinced ourselves that what we have isn’t enough? Society and our minds have this tendency to tell us that what we’ve done is sub par, that we aren’t up to standard. We start planning for ourselves as children on all the things we want to be when we grow up and what we want to have and if we don’t get there by the often impossible standards we put ourselves up against, we panic. But there is something to be said for being Satisfied with the journey, and not just fixated on the destination. We each have our own story in life, written just for us. No one else can live it for us. And that story is full of thrilling events, extreme highs and lows, and plenty of downtime in between. That downtime in between is the part we often miss when watching our favorite movies or checking in on our friends on social media. We catch the highlights but miss all the development. And I have a good friend who’s a writing extraordinaire and I know she’d agree with me when I say that every great character needs development.

You are a great character. And while you may be fixated on those dramatic climaxes, learn to find Satisfaction in your development period. Be Satisfied with the moments that don’t seem as glamorous. Paul was a perfect example of this in the Bible. He went through one of the most famous transformations, where once he punished Christians for their beliefs and then went on to become probably the greatest teacher after Christ himself. But Paul’s story didn’t consist of just highs. He experienced some really low moments as well. And he spent a lot of time in jail. I can only imagine how uninspiring those periods of incarceration had to be. But he always came out better than he went in. No matter what was thrown at him, good, evil, or boring, he came out Satisfied. He wrote to the Philippians “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Jesus gave him the strength he needed to be satisfied no matter what the circumstances.

He will do that for you, too. God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. He knows the plan He has and the developmental period you need to go through. He gives us every success and allows every gut wrenching lesson. And through it all we can take Satisfaction in the knowledge that He can and will carry us through everything He carries us to. Take comfort in the current period being ok. Be satisfied with the right now, knowing that your story is not yet over but this chapter is going to make for a greater comeback, a new view on life. An opportunity to grow and develop, more so that the goal you wish to accomplish, can be the sweetest level of Satisfaction because you had to endure so much more to achieve it.

I know that so many people are facing the adverse effects of COVID-19. Whether it’s being laid off, furloughed, or being an essential worker often in harm’s way. Maybe you’re experiencing cabin fever and working from home with your entire family up under you, or you live alone and are missing out on the social interactions you once had from going to the office weekly or out on weekends. You miss traveling, seeing family and friends, enjoying shopping, or things just being the way they used to be. I’m here to tell you that there’s something to be Satisfied about in this period. You’re alive and moderately well. You have food and shelter. You wake up everyday determined to live life better on the other side of this pandemic. And I want to encourage you, that for now, it’s ok. For right now, in this moment, those small victories make way for even bigger ones. This developmental period of the journey is just preparing you for future success.

So I congratulate you now for all those future successes waiting for you on the other side. Congrats on your new podcast. Congrats on your graduation. Congrats on that new contract you just signed. Congrats on that new apartment. Congrats on making it through. I hope you find some Satisfaction in the journey.