Finding Peace in the Now

Happy Wednesday everyone, hope you are all having a great week! For whatever reason being content is probably one of the hardest lessons for me to learn in my own life, so of course this is what God is telling me to write about today ha ha. I love God's sense of humor, the one thing you want to avoid is the one thing he wants to bring to the light. I felt like I was being called to write about this today because I know I am not the only person who struggles with this issue, and sometimes it just feels good to know we are not alone. Anyone else feel like being content is one of the hardest aspects of life? It seems like happiness and contentment are always a future plan, but nothing tangible in the present. I will be happy when I have lost 10 more pounds, I will be happy when I have this much money in the bank, I will be happy when I have this many followers, I will be happy when I have a new job, I will be happy when my business is doing well, I will be happy when I finish school, I will be happy when I live here, I will be happy when I have a bigger house, I will be happy when I have a nicer car, I will be happy when I am with this person, I will be happy when I have a baby, etc..... you fill in the blank with what you are telling yourself will make you happy/content and when. . I am a perfectionist so it is hard for me to leave well enough alone and that can be a good thing and a bad thing. It can make it hard to be content because I am always wanting to change things or find ways to make things better. God designed us to be grateful and find our peace in him but instead we fight it and try to be the masters of our own life and are constantly being pulled away from that peace. Mathew 11:28-30 states “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” It seems like such an easy concept, but we make it so hard on ourselves to apply it, or at least I do. If we could change all the feelings of discontentment we feel in our lives and change it to feelings of gratitude for what we do have,then it could change our whole outlook and imagine the peace we would feel knowing that we have is more than enough.

One area in my life that I struggle with being content is in my own home, I am not sure if it is because I am a woman and we are nesters , or if it is because I am a homebody so I want to make our home as dreamy as possible or if it is because I have watched one too many episodes of HGTV. I am constantly thinking of ways we can update our home and change areas to make it more functional and aesthetically pleasing ,and even planning ahead to our next home. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with making those changes and updating your home, the problem comes when I focus more on what I think I should have instead of being grateful for what God has blessed us with now. Not being content in the now can rob you of your happiness, and that was never what God intended for us. When I think about our home and appreciate it for what it has been for our family I realize, this is the first home Aaron and I have ever purchased together, we started our family in this home, we brought our baby boy home in this house, and it has been a wonderful first home for us.  Aaron is so good about helping me realize that we don't need more to be happy and helps me be content with what we have. We are opposites in a lot of ways and because of that, he helps me see things from his point of view ,which helps ground me. One reason I truly love Aaron is he would be happy to live in a box, material things hold no value to him and I wish I was more like that.

  We live in a society where enough is never enough and that mentality in programmed into our brains from day one, so being content with that you have is almost a backwards way of thinking. With blogging in particular, being content is hard because it is the nature of the beast to want more with everything constantly changing. It is hard to not compare yourself or your brand or your content to others. But I know the beauty of my blog is there is only one me in this world, so that makes me different and means I have something unique to bring to the table. I am trying to learn to be content with where I am in this moment, I just started blogging, so I can't hold myself to the same standard of those who have been in this industry for years, but again being a perfectionist makes this hard. However, with anything it is hard to not be critical of yourself and pick yourself apart but I am trying to be grateful for the growth I've made in these few months and be proud of where I am in this moment. Again being content with where we are in our lives can be a difficult task but when we begin with being grateful, it really puts thing into perspective. 

I seem to constantly be telling myself, if I hit these goals I have set for myself and my family then I can rest and be happy. However; I know good and well, when I hit that goal there will be another and another and that happiness is always just out of my reach, if I choose to view it that way. I do not want to spend my life and these precious moments with my little family wishing it away, instead I want to be content and enjoy every blessing now. Knox will only be this little once, Aaron and I will only be a family of 3 for so long, and all these wonderful memories need to be cherished and not pushed aside fort he next milestone. I am trying to be better about recognizing when my heart is in discontentment and ask myself is this from God or is this a distraction from the enemy trying to steal my peace. Almost always when I take a step back, I am able to realize how much I truly have to be grateful for in the moment and how much happiness is right in front of me. I hope this rambling blog post about being content and finding peace in the now, helps you find some joy in where you are in your life right at this moment. I know it is easier said than done, but counting our blessings really allows us to have a heart of gratefulness and peace!   

Be Well,
Katelyn

Below are some of my favorite bible verses on being content that have really helped me put life into perspective.

Mathew 6:25-26 -Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 

 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Phillipians 4:12-13- 12 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.

Hebrews 13:5- Keep your lives free 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.”

** All pictures provided by the extremely talented Taylors Photography