As funny as that was, the nausea and cramps were no good. The mere sight and taste of food was extremely off putting. Oddly enough, drinking a glass of wine helped calm my stomach last night and I relaxed into a nice sleep overnight. My poor wife, working so hard, worked until 2am.
Martin Zender has recently been doing a series on contentment. Based on the passage
Learning to Hold Loosely
6 Now devoutness with contentment is great capital;
7 for nothing do we carry into the world, and it is evident that neither can we carry anything out.
8 Now, having sustenance and shelter, with these we shall be sufficed.
9 Now, those intending to be rich are falling into a trial and a trap and the many foolish and harmful desires which are swamping men in extermination and destruction.
10 For a root of all of the evils is the fondness for money, which some, craving, were led astray from the faith and try themselves on all sides with much pain.
It's given me a great deal to think about. To be content is great capital. That's money in the bank people. If you're content, you're richer than Bill Gates, think about that. If you're content, you're no longer DISCONTENT. That's more peace than most people have.
I was standing in Memory Express the other day, one of our major electronics stores; and naturally a store dear to my heart. I was looking around and thinking... This world is passing away, Jesus will snatch me away soon and... none of this will be coming with me. It's all bound to be burned.
It hit me then the deepest secret to our contentment. We can be content because we know where our real investment lies. I'm looking forward to the celestial allotment that I've been guaranteed. The new Body I will have the new work I will be doing. The more I think on this; the more excited I get and the less the material things of this world matter.
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind my hobbies and passions, but they can't consume me in the way they once did. I need to learn to let go of things, and hoard less. Give more. And hold loosely... Be willing to let it go and not be grieved by the loss of things.
You know what WILL go with you though? The experiences we have. The love we share. The memories we create. I think I'm going to spend more of my money, more of my time into those things. Watching my daughter grow. Taking a vacation as a family. And growing in my love for friends, family, and people around me.
There are a great many thoughts I've had, spurred by Martin's podcasts on this subject. Much more than I could write in a morning. I will probably come back to this again and again. As it gives rest to my soul. So stressed out my family and I can be at times. It is difficult to lose most of an income in order to raise a child. It is difficult to pay off debt and labor under the crushing weight of interest rates. It is difficult to pay bills and taxes. It is also difficult to work to make money, less than to work doing what I truly love.
Praise God that he meets all my needs. We have food, clothing, shelter, and in comparison to most of the world - we live in relative luxury. PRAISE God for all of that. Thank you, Father, who meets all my needs and also calls me according to his purpose.
Amen,
Travis Penner
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