Wasting a Life

Some people might say that a life without someone to share it with, is wasted.



I'm not sure if I agree with that. I think some people share their lives with a lot of people, and still waste it. And others seem to live what I might call a 'lonely' life, but are truly content and fruitful- a far cry from a waste.


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Are you wasting your life? Am I wasting my life? How would we know?


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I just finished the first chapter in a book by Linda Dillow called Calm My Anxious Heart, which speaks of finding true contentment. I've learned that contentment, a lot like joy, is a state of heart rather than circumstance. It's not happiness. It's not glee...it's a steady joy that a person feels knowing that God is in control...from the very beginning until the very end. Dillow suggests that a life that is not content, is wasted. So how are we supposed to know if we're content? And if we aren't content, how are we supposed to get there?


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In the book, Dillow bulletts the 'recipe' for contentment and first on the list? "Don't complain about anything...not even the weather".


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This might be a good time to confess that I am a really, really good complainer. I can complain about pretty much anything under the sun, especially the current state of our education system. It surprises me sometimes, how much I complain about a job that I would really and truly do for FREE. That's how much I enjoy what I do, and yet I rarely let up the complaints. Why IS that?


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So my focus this week (and hopefully for years to come but I like to take baby steps...) is to hold the complaints. This life is a gift- from the beginning to the very end and if I am spending that gift pointing out what's wrong with it, then I fail to fulfil my purpose. If I waste the gift of life, I waste my life.


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And so I'm back to the beginning question...is a life with no one to share it with one that is wasted? Maybe it's just that sharing your life with others allows you to peek a little clearer into the gift that you're living. We are blessed...and sometimes, through the fog that others help us to pass, it becomes clear as day.


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Yesterday we realized our pediatrician has no more flu vaccinations. As in - none 'til November. We opted to spend the afternoon at one of our family's favorite spots. Howard Amon beats a round of flu shots any 'ol day ;) (Note the potential complain turned optomist, here. I'm trying, can you tell?)



There is SUCH joy in watching children play.

Ryan's fav- the ZIP line!

See how JD is looking around? Like "Is anyone gonna see this?" kind of looking around? And see how Ryan is doing the 'happy dance'?

That's because they both attempted the...shall we say...impossible?

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the swing is supposed to be OFF the ground. Hahahahahha!

...and so are the people who ride on it! :)

This life of ours, it's a gift. And I'm going to try like crazy not to blow it.