If Only's...

As I was hanging sheep "outfits" on the line on my EXTRA day off (if you look at the sheep show blog coming later, there are pics of these outfits;)  ANYWAY, I was thinking of what I think seems to be an outbreak (an epidemic even) of people I know, those I don't know, and of course that one who looks at me in the mirror everyday.  So many seem to be suffering from the "If Only's"!    I am sure if you think about it you can come up with your own!

If only...I had more time, if only I could get organized, if only if I could get my _______ in order (this one took too many for me to fill in so fill in your own blank!),  if only I could go to school, if only I could have that perfect job, if only I didn't have a job, if only I could find that perfect someone, if only I could get my finances in order, if only I had more money, if only I could have a different home, if only I could exercise more (ride my bike more), if only I were taller, if only I were shorter, if only I were thinner, if only my spouse would...are you getting the idea?  

Then there are the "if only's" that we seem to carry with us that weigh us down...if only I had told them I loved them, if only I would have taught them more, if only I would have told them I was sorry, if only I had been more patient, if only I had gave them more of my time, if only I had shared the love of Jesus with them...IF ONLY!!

I am sure you are getting the idea of the start of the sentence IF ONLY...THEN I WOULD BE HAPPY--THEN I WOULD BE CONTENT!  And some of these "if only's" are actually things that if we just put our minds to it and as my Grandma Bessie used to say, "If the Good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise" are things that we can do!   But doing these things may or may not make us happy--make us content!   We all have regrets, we all want a few "do-over's", ,..but sometimes that isn't how it goes.  We can't just dwell on the "what ifs"!   Like they say "IF" the center of   L-IF-E!

But again Philippians from last week keeps speaking to me.  My Living Bible says in 4:11-13:

"Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little.  I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything.  I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want; for I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power."

This one comes in handy as I am working on losing weight.  But it isn't an IF ONLY kind of thing.  It is because it is something God has pressed me to do!   There are so many benefits that I will reap but first of all it is an exercise in obedience.  I have been reading in Jeremiah and for several days Jeremiah 2:13 kept coming back to me AND coming back to me.  It says,

"For my people have done two evil things: they have forsaken me, the Fountain of Life-giving Water; and they have built for themselves broken cisterns that can't hold water!"

The whole broken cistern concept kept getting to me.   When we lived out at the old Pfeiff homestead ranch we had a cistern.  With the help of the windmill--this was how water was provided to us to supply our needs.   If there was windmill or cistern problems...these took priority!   And so this illustration helps me in looking at this scripture and I ask,  "CAN MY CISTERN HOLD WATER!"   It may be able to hold some, but I feel God is working on me so that I can hold all of the Life-giving Water that He wants me to hold not only for my own needs, but the needs of others!

So many areas of my life--mind, body, and soul that seem to need some assistance.   I want to be better--I want to do better!   But while I am on this quest--I need to be content where I am while I am traveling.   Not to be weighed down by "If Only's".   To look at that person in the mirror and smile.  And like so many times before a song comes on and plays for me...You're Beautiful by MercyMe plays.   I want to sing it to that woman in the mirror, but I also dedicate it to some very special women in my life...It seems to go along with my Jeremiah reading in 1:4,

"I knew you before you were formed within your mother's womb, before you were born I sanctified you and appointed you as my spokesman to the world."  You're Beautiful

And so I end this with some words taken from my devotional in God Calling by A.J. Russell:

"Nothing in the day is too small to be a part of My scheme.  The little stones in a mosaic play a big part.

Joy in me.  Joy is the God-given cement that secures the harmony and beauty of My mosaic."

So this day I wish you JOY!   I wish you harmony, contentment, and peace.  But above all of this--I wish you LOVE! 

What Love Really Means by JJ Heller

God Bless!

lyp

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