One would think at my age that I would get it, but my behavior belies me. I’m still pursuing things that I think would make me happy and content. My only somewhat mitigated comfort is knowing that I’m not alone in this never ending struggle.
As I sit here ruminating about what life would be if I was in a picturesque get-a-way home tucked away in the rolling hills of Texas’ Hill Country, I’m anything but restful.
I lament within my self, sitting comfortably on my sectional in the living room of my 2,623 square foot new house in New Braunfels Texas, of what it would be like living in the Hill Country. I muse, “It’s too crowded here! The traffic’s a nightmare! People here are just not nice, at all!”
While all that may be true, does it really mean changing my geographical location to some fantasy I’ve conjured up in my imagination is going to bring me the peace and happiness I so long for? Well, you’d think I’d learn. I was in this exact state two years ago when I was living in Ohio in my 2,100 square foot house on four acres. I was discontent longing to be in Texas.
That’s the problem with our fallen human nature. We feel dissatisfied and want out. We want a change.
I’m coming to the realization that changing my geographical location is not the fix-all, but changing my thoughts and focus very much is.
As I refocus this morning I’m reminded to trust the Lord and rest in him who is “the prince of peace”. He’s not unaware where I am and, dispite my personal misgivings, still has a plan for me. I’m reminded of the scripture that says, “seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.”
So then, pursuing happiness has more to do with seeking the person of Christ, and less to do with seeking other things, we think, will make us happy.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think I’m headed to the Hill Country one day, but in the meantime, I need to focus on Him and what he wants me to do for him now. Like Jesus as a young boy, answered his parents when he was missing, “didn’t you know that I was about my Father’s business?, I need to have this mind set.
I would rather be in New Braunfels with Him than to be out in the Hill Country without Him.