Choices

Choices

I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.

Philippians 4:12-13

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

The mom who prays this prayer is exercising trust in God because she realizes there are some things in life she can’t change. She’s not feeling trapped, though, because she’s asking for courage to make good choices about things that can be changed, and she’s admitting that at times it’s difficult to identify which is which.

Sometimes restless discontentment can be an opportunity for change or growth. Perhaps a mom feels she has run up against a brick wall in dealing with her child, or she knows she’s having trouble setting limits and boundaries. She can, if necessary, make the choice to seek help from a Christian counselor or other parenting resources. But there are some things in life we can’t change—like our families of origin, our genes, or the basic personalities of our children or our husbands. What do we do with the situations that we’d like to change but can’t? We all encounter those. We may have no control over the situation, but we can choose the attitude of our hearts.

Our contentment will be directly proportional to our trust in God. If we have little trust, we’ll find little contentment. If we have great trust in him, we will have great contentment, because we know he is in control. Long-term contentment in our soul is not a matter of circumstance—it is a matter of trust in God.

Father,

May we always make the choice to trust you and be content with the circumstances of our lives that we can’t change. Please give us great wisdom in all the choices we make. Amen.