I think we all have “if only” moments. Moments we are longing and hoping for something other than what we have. “If only I had blonde CURLY hair..” – “If only I had blue eyes…” – “If only I was married…” – “If only I was thinner…” – “If ONLY!”
I believe we are more like sheep than most people would like to admit. We are often so discontent (something most sheep have a problem with) and we come up with all these different if onlys. If onlys are just another form of discontentment. This type of discontentment comes from us getting the idea that we could be better, could do better things, or would be happier if we ONLY were made differently. This type of attitude is COMPLETELY wrong. We can only get this if only attitude when we take our eyes off of the Lord. Instead of looking at the blessings we have been given or the talents we have been gifted with we look at the bad things and all the downs in our life.
My momma once gave this analogy.
“If you put your whole heart into drawing me a picture and you were so very excited about giving it to me and then… when you gave it to me I turned my nose up at it and started pointing out all the things I didn’t like. The sky isn’t blue enough, or the trees are shaped funny. THAT is exactly what you are doing to God when you decide that you could be better if He had ONLY done things differently.”
Do you think that next time you are in the if only moment, you could instead think of something the Lord has blessed you with. I often remember my momma’s words whenever I would least like to… I am thankful for it too. I hope you’ll remember her words next time too. 
Until our next chat…
Beth Joy
Thank you for this article Beth Joy. There is great wisdom in what you are saying. So, so true.
ReplyDeleteYou touched my heart...God has been blessing me with a contented heart over the last few months especially...learning a lot and lots of joy after some pruning. :D
God bless you little sister in the Lord!
Sewn with Grace,
Mary Joy