Once upon a time there were two monks...

"I need oil," said an ancient monk, so he planted an olive sapling. 

"Lord," he prayed, "it needs rain that its tender roots may drink and well. 

Send gentle showers." And the Lord sent gentle showers.

"Lord," prayed the monk, "my tree needs sun. Send sun, I pray thee."

And the sun shone, gilding the dripping clouds. 

"Now frost, my Lord, to brace its tissues," cried the monk. And behold, 

the little tree sparkling with frost, but at evening it died. 

Then the monk sought the cell of a brother monk, 

and told his strange experience. "I too,

planted a little tree," he said, "and see! It thrives well. 

But I entrust my tree to its God. He who made it knows 

better what it needs than a man like me. I laid no condition. 

I fixed not ways or means. 'Lord, send what it needs,'

I prayed, 'storm or sunshine, wind, rain, or frost. Thou

hast made it an Thou dost know.'"  

Mrs. Charles E. Cowman, Streams in the Desert (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1925), p. 108

Which monk describes you? I am for sure the first one. 

Are you playing out your given role in life with faithfulness?

Nine years ago I auditioned for the supporting role in my high school's fall play.  I didn't get the part. Instead I was given the small comic relief role. I cried for about a day and then moved on.  I ended up loving my given role and quickly forgot about my past heartache. 

What is my given role right now in life and am I am content with it?  Am I enjoying my given role? Presently, I have been given the role of being a teacher and single.  For many years I longed to become a teacher and now I am finally one.  Do I always enjoy it? No.  I am always faithful to my role? No, I find myself constantly complaining about it. But I wanted to be a teacher.  Do I like being single?  I feel like I have been crying for over ten years about getting the role of being single.  In her book, A Woman's Guide to Finding Contentment: Calm My Anxious Heart,  Linda Dillow talks about how each role in our life is a gift from God. Any role will have its ups and downs.  I guarantee you that my friends who are married or have kids too have rough days.  On the opposite side, each role is its own adventure! My new goal is to learn how to be faithful to the role God has given me. Not sure how this will work and I know hard days will still come.  You never know what you will encounter on an adventure ;)

To be content with who we are

"I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about, born in God's thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest, and most precious thing in all thinking." - George MacDonald

This quote hit the core of my heart this morning. How many times have I thought in my life "If only I looked like this then maybe someone would want me." I could probably list off over a hundred lies that I have believed to why I am still single.  Most of these lies would say that I am not good enough.  But in the light of truth these thoughts are LIES. Just lies. We all have been purposefully created.  It is humbling and comforting at the same time to know that the God of the universe created me.