It’s safe to say we all reach a point in life where we face discontentment. Now, if a person says, “Oh, not me!” then that person: 1) is too young; 2) doesn’t know what the word means; or, 3) is in denial. Even the knowledge that God is in control doesn’t guarantee contentment 100% of the time. The Apostle Paul said he had to learn to be content, which implies he had once known discontentment. It’s a learning process that comes with life.
I’m not drawn to poetry or prose but occasionally a piece pulls me in, like this one:
It was spring, but it was summer I wanted, warm days & great outdoors.
It was summer, but it was fall I wanted, colorful leaves & cool dry air.
It was fall, but it was winter I wanted, beautiful snow & joy of the holiday season.
It was winter, but it was spring I wanted, warmth & blossoming of nature.
I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted, freedom & respect.
I was 20, but it was 30 I wanted, maturity & sophistication.
I was middle-aged, but I wanted to be 20, youthful & energetic.
I retired, but it was middle-aged I wanted, at ease and presence of mind.
My life was over, but I never got what I wanted.
We can wear ourselves out wanting what we don’t have or wanting to be who we are not.
* The young want to look older, the old want to look younger.
* A fan in the stands wishes he was coaching; a coach on the field wishes he was a fan in the stands.
* A poor man is miserable thinking money will make him happy; a rich man is miserable because he knows it won’t.
* One man says, “Take this job and shove it.” Another man says, “I wish I had a job to shove.”
What’s the best time in life, the best age to be, the best place to live, the best job to have? I am not qualified to give the answers, so here are a few suggestions:
#1 – LOVE WHO YOU ARE
1 Cor. 12:18 “God made our bodies with many parts, and he has put each part just where he wants it.”
What YOU are is God’s gift to YOU. Accept who YOU are. Accept how God made YOU.
Freddie Patek played 14 seasons of professional baseball. He was a 3-time All-Star and elected to KC Royals Hall of Fame. Freddie stood 5’5” & weighed 148lbs. Hundreds of 6ft, 200lb physical specimens are drafted & never play a single year in the majors. Freddie was content to accept who he was with the attitude of being the best Freddie Patek he could. When asked by a reporter how he felt being the shortest player in the major leagues, Patek said, ‘A lot better than being the shortest player in the minor leagues.’
Ethel Waters said, ‘I am somebody ’cause God don’t make no junk.’ The path to contentment begins with accepting who we are because God made us. (#2 next week)
–Jackie Chesnutt, Chaplain & Emotional Support Coach for Myers-Davis (10/27/2025)
