Admittedly I don't think about running away from home every day, but I am 33, I do have my own house and I do have a great job and yet I still sometimes think that if I did this or that then my life would be better.
What Justin says at I'm Ramblin' Again is that this is quite normal, we all look at the greener grass or imagine that our lives would be better if only it were different. However, Justin makes a very important point in that no matter what we did to make our lives different WE would still be the same and it is our general dissatisfaction with everything that means that even if everything were as perfect as we believe they should be, we still wouldn't be happy because we are still carrying around our baggage regarding how we feel about ourselves.
Until we I get to the bottom of my dissatisfaction and allow myself to find happiness in the life that I am living then I am always going to see that greener grass and yearn for it. So, instead of looking at the outward trappings of success I need to focus on my inner happiness and draw out my faith and my joy in the simple things and learn to be happy instead of saying to myself that if I had a bigger house I'd be happier, if I moved to Australia (or Canada or America or wherever the fancy takes me!) I'd be the social bubbly person that I always wanted to be, if I did this or that then I'd be happier.
But, I know deep down inside that no matter what I did I would still be the same person - vaguely unhappy but not entirely certain why, and I know that I need to work on this and I do believe that I am taking baby steps towards understanding myself and where I should be in my life.
3 comments:
And even better -- locate those yearnings in the hope that God has planned for the world. In other words: "We hope for what we do not see, and we wait for it patiently."
TO quote Lewis:
Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite
joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
God be with you Sam.
Discontentment is so easily found. I think we all fight it on a daily bases. I haven't been 33 in a long time and yet I too sometimes look out my window at the mountains in the distance and think about just walking out and not coming back. Why? I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful home, a ministry that God is greatly blessings, five wonderful children and one, soon to be, two grandchildren. Why am I discontent? For me it is because there are places I haven't been and things I have experienced yet. My dad would have called it "wanderlust". The call of the open road...the road not taken.
Blessings to you from Costa Rica
Malcontent is a serious problem in our world today...especially in the wealthiest of countries.
How it must hurt the heart of God for His own children to get caught up in it.
Great post. You speak of what is true in all human nature.
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