Finding Contentment

Last week, when I went to post for PHFR, I had no idea what to write. The goal of PHFR is finding contentment in everyday life. Normally, this isn’t something I have a problem with. I am generally very content with where I am (I think anyway…), but last week that was not the case.

See last week, we had just been to Pikeville to look at places to live – places to rent and to buy. After some hilarious adventures checking out houses that were not quite as advertised, we found a little red house that seemed perfect – and it was instantly all over (at least for me, anyway). Every place we looked at afterwards paled in comparison. At the end of our 3 days there, our brains were so overloaded from seeing so many options that we decided to take a few days to make a decision about which housing option we were going to pursue.

However, by Wednesday, I was totally stressed out. My heart had gotten attached to that little red house and I was afraid that someone else was going to get it. I had let this good thing become a god thing, an idol in my life. Mentally, I knew this. I’ve had enough seminary counseling classes to know that my heart was in the wrong place, but knowing that is a lot easier than doing something about it. As Andy said to me at the time, a week ago I hadn’t even seen the house and was perfectly content. In less than a week, I had let it get the best of me.

Oh how hard it is when we are faced with a situation that reminds us that we truly are not in control. I am so thankful that in those times that I remember that any control I think I have is merely an illusion, that I know who is in control. What a blessing it is to know that God is still sovereign over this broken world. So, here I am being humbled by the realization that my faith is so so small, and has so much room to grow. In the end, we were able to negotiate with the seller and reach an agreement, so we have the house under contract! Assuming that all of the inspections, appraisals, etc. go well, it will be ours by the end of April. Aannd, I have an interview for a job in Pikeville next week that seems like it could be a good fit for me.

God is so good. My faith is so small.
Now onto the things that actually make this a PHFR post.

{pretty}

The orchid that Andy got me for Valentine’s Day.

{happy}

This past weekend was great. My parents came to visit (but I don’t have any photo evidence), Andy and I got to watch a movie together, I got to hang out with Katherine for a little bit, and I got homework done. A weekend where I got to see people and be productive – a rare event for me, and it was great!

{funny}

I noted a couple of weeks ago that Andy had been putting some funny things up for sale on eBay. Well one of those things was a bunch of old, used desktop calendars. Many of us told him that we would be surprised to see them sell. Well, this week they did. For $15 + $5 shipping! He was pretty excited and enjoyed taking some time to gloat about it a little bit.

{real}

What I should be focusing on…

The house that we currently have under contract (!!) 🙂

On the left: what I should be keeping in focus.
On the right: what I was keeping in focus.

Much Love,
Sarah