Find Contentment When Life Isn’t Happening Like You Expected

This post was originally written in 2019, when my family lived in an RV full time. Even though we live in a house now, life isn’t always perfect, and I’m still learning how to find contentment when life isn’t turning out like I thought it would.

It was a quick moment of frustration. I walked into our bedroom and caught my arm on the edge of the door handle. It hurt so bad! For some reason, anger was my first response, and I shouted, “I hate living in this house!”

God immediately smote my heart at my ungrateful attitude. You see, I prayed for so long that God would give us this little camper house. I prayed daily for months that He would help us sell our house, find a camper, find some land to buy and help us get our dream of building our own home. But now, in one heated moment, I forgot all of those answered prayers, and scorned the blessing He gave me.

I’m not going to pretend that living in a camper with two young children isn’t difficult. Sometimes it’s very difficult. But I try hard to keep a positive attitude and find contentment. The holiday season was hard, as I had opportunity to visit the homes of so many of my friends and family.

I used a full-sized shower, took a nap on a couch, sat down to meals at big tables and admired tall, beautifully decorated Christmas trees.

And yes, the covetousness slipped in.

The truth is, even you aren’t currently living in a little house on wheels like I am, your life may not be exactly what you always hoped it would be. It’s easy to compare our lives to someone else’s, and suddenly, what was fine before, isn’t anymore.

I have found that when I start feeling discontent in life, there are three basic things I can do to help me find peace and joy in my heart again. These are simple steps, but they can have a profound effect on my attitude.

Find contentment by looking back to see how far you’ve come.

This time last year I had a pretty good life. My little family lived in a four-bedroom house in a cute little neighborhood. I had a whole room dedicated to my craft projects, a kitchen with a full-sized island, and gorgeous vaulted ceilings.

But we were struggling. Our mortgage on that house was more than we’d been led to believe by our lending company. The price of living was higher than we’d expected. Those high ceilings cost a lot of money to heat.

And driving forty minutes each way to church three or more times a week was really starting to take its toll. Here in this tiny house, life is so much simpler.

While it’s not ideal, it’s the start of a dream that we’ve been dreaming for nine years. I could’ve never guessed how far we’d come in a year, and when I remember it, I’m so thankful for what God has done in our lives.

Even if your life isn’t turning out like you planned, you can know that it has worked out like He planned it for you. Look back and see all the times He has blessed you.

He’s answered prayers for you, and brought you through difficult times. If you’re like me, there have been times when you thought, “There’s no way I can make it through this.”

But you did. He brought you through it. So, instead of feeling discouraged about where you are now, be thankful for how far He has brought you.

Find contentment by looking ahead and dreaming of what can be.

The new year is always full of such promise, and this one is no different. There are so many amazing possibilities out in front of me right now. We’ll hopefully be closing on our dream property in a few weeks.

We’ve been looking at house plans to choose what we hope will be our forever home. I’m starting a new business that could really be a blessing to our family financially. It’s been a dream of mine for so long to have my own chickens, and I may actually be able to buy some this spring!

This situation is temporary, and when I choose to remember that, it becomes easier to be content with what I have.

Even when life isn’t turning out like we planned, we know that God promised us that all things work together for our good. It’s in these hard times we need to have faith like a child, knowing that He always has our best interest at heart.

The truth is, life here on earth can never be perfect. Our hearts long for something more. And we can always look forward, knowing that Heaven is waiting for us.

Find contentment by being thankful for what you have.

I had so much stuff in my big house. Closets, drawers and a whole garage full. Most of that would not fit in our camper. While some of it went into our storage unit, we got rid of a lot, too.

And the longer I live with less, the more I realize I don’t need more to be truly happy. When I look around now, I see things I love. Not things that I keep around because I can’t bear to get rid of them.

I see two boys who are healthy and full of life., and a man who works hard to support us. I see dreams that are coming true through miracles only God could do.

Life is about more than material things. When we lose focus of that, we can easily fall into covetousness and discontentment. As the saying goes, “The grass is always greener where you water it.”

Every time I find myself struggling to be content, I can generally trace it back to forgetting the blessings God has given me.

Sometimes it helps to take a gratitude challenge, to remind myself of all the little things I too often forget.

It’s still a small camper. I still bump my toes and arms and step on toys. But when I look at everything I have as a blessing, I can only be thankful. And a thankful heart cannot be discontent.

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