Contentment...what?!? What's THAT?

Have you ever thought about the value of the memory that brings you joy or a smile to your face, or a tear to your eye? Now think about trying to recreate it…kind of devalues it doesn’t it? It doesn’t feel the same or even look the same and you may even be a bit weary because you expended energy to recreate something that God had given you effortlessly the first time. God’s gifts aren’t meant to be recreated but savored in the moment they are given.

When I was in Kenya last June I had a great mango juice drink. Let me tell you…it was GOOD! So good that I carried the desire for it back with me to Colorado and went on a search for it. Imagine my excitement at finding a mango juice on our grocery shelves and the brand came out of South Africa! I thought that surely it would be almost the same drink I had in Kenya. Now imagine my disappointment when my taste buds revealed that it just wasn’t the same. I realized then and there ~ as silly as it seems, that the mango juice that gave me such a great memory of my time in Kenya was meant for just that. A memory and not something to try and recreate. I have learned to value the memory of it and let it bring me joy as it leads me to recall other good moments of the same trip.

1 Timothy 6:6-7 has a lesson for us about the value of a moment. When we can be content with the moment and the memory of the moment we have taken a step toward godly contentment. And godly contentment leads to a joy filled life because we value the gifts of God, no matter how big or small. And when we value something, we recognize that we don’t need to spend any time or energy recreating it. God would rather see us put energy toward new moments to add to our collection.

There’s a woman in the Bible who had her own collection of moments. We can learn a lot from her. She valued moments given to her by God and continued on, giving her energy to new moments along the way. Her name was Mary and she was the mother of Jesus. Twice in Luke 2 we are told that she observed and participated in some special moments and treasured the memories in her heart. (verses 19 and 51) Notice she didn’t attempt to recreate any of those moments; she just tucked them away in the recesses of her heart and carried them with her.

Next time you or I are tempted to recreate a moment, let us consider a different way to spend our energy and store away the memory in our hearts as a priceless gift from God.

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19