Contentment

Contentment

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Luke 9:17, NIV

I like getting up early in the morning, but I wasn’t always like this. When I was in high school, I made things hard for my mom because I was stubborn about getting ready for school. Making it to my 8 AM classes in college was a huge challenge, and I’m sure I used up most of my allotted absences.

I must have begun changing my ways after becoming a mother. Getting up early has often been my only opportunity for quiet time. Quiet time for me includes reading the Bible, praying, and thinking. I don’t do any of those things well when the setting is busy or noisy.

This morning I woke up at 6 AM in a hotel where my family is staying. We are on a weekend trip to take one of our sons back to college for his junior year. Since we don’t have to check out of the hotel until 10 AM, it was very tempting to stay snuggled under the bedcovers. But I remembered that my attitudes and perspectives for each day are often established in the quiet of the mornings during time spent in God’s Word. Once I decided to get up, my next challenge was finding a quiet spot. My family was asleep in the dark room, and the hotel lobby was too noisy. I decided to pull a comfortable chair out into the hall, and here I am with a quiet, cozy spot and a cup of coffee.

My Bible reading this morning reminded me of the power of God, the importance of my faith, and the great contentment that I experience when I am fed spiritually. In the same way that hungry people were satisfied when Jesus fed the five thousand, our souls are satisfied when we spend time with God.

God,

Thank you that when we spend time in your Word, we experience contentment. Thanks that your Word satisfies our hungry souls. Amen.