The deer mouse demonstrates contentment in its ability to make its home almost anywhere, making itself comfortable with whatever is available. We know this firsthand, as one rainy winter, they decided to make their nest under the hood of my car! Hungry little creatures that they are, they proceeded to eat through my cable lines and brought my transportation to an abrupt “out of commission”! He must have traveled miles with me over the course of a few months while he ate what was available, while resting in his warm nest!
Oh, I forgot to mention…at the same time,
his friends did the same thing under the hood of my husband’s car!
The alternative to contentment is boredom. This little mouse and his little family were content because they weren’t under a bush in the rain, but cozy, dry and had plenty of cable lines and food I set out for more domestic animals to eat! They maximized what was available to them. They felt welcome because all summer I kept the bird feeders full of food and planters with vegetables ready for all of them. “They no doubt invited the whole community for a feast” my husband would say. I was content watching the birds, squirrels, rabbits and racoons come to entertain me every morning while I drank my coffee.
Little did I know they were moving in! Not just a morning visit, but sly interlopers. I learned that as content as they were, I was a little dismayed! Contentment is understanding God has provided everything I need for my PRESENT happiness. Why was I complaining…I brought this on myself! Contentment is contrary to human nature and must be learned.
Adam and Eve had the perfect environment and they were not content in it. They had perfect health, a perfect marriage, a perfect garden, and walked in that garden with God, yet they soon believed the lie that God had not provided everything they needed to be content! What hope is there for me?
“Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned,
in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”
Philippians 4:11
God’s purpose was to teach me to distinguish between my needs and wants and to lean in on Him. Contentment is a decision we make as He uses these interruptions to remind us to focus and recognize our daily need for Him regardless of our circumstances. Hence, the “cozy car destroyers” are not my irritation… but my best friends!
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
