Mary was
widowed and facing serious health challenges when her daughter invited her to
move into the new “granny apartment” attached to her home. Although it would
involve leaving friends and the rest of her family many miles away, Mary
rejoiced in God’s provision.
Six months into
her new life, the initial joy and contentment threatened to slip away as she
was tempted to grumble inwardly and doubt whether the move was really God’s
perfect plan. She missed her Christian friends, and her new church was too far
away to get to independently.
Then she read
something that the great 19th-century preacher Charles Spurgeon had written.
“Now contentment is one of the flowers of heaven, and it must be cultivated,”
he pointed out. “Paul says . . . ‘I have learned to be
content,’ as if he didn't know how at one time.”
Mary concluded
that if an ardent evangelist like Paul, confined to prison, abandoned by
friends, and facing execution could learn contentment, then so could she.
“I realized
that until I could learn this lesson, I wouldn’t enjoy those things God had
planned,” she said. “So I confessed my inward grumbling and asked for His
forgiveness. Soon after that a newly retired lady asked if I would be her
prayer partner, and others offered me a ride to church. My needs for a ‘soul
friend’ and greater mobility were wonderfully met.”
God doesn’t always change our circumstances, but He will change us. (ODB)
