The Best Things in Life Are Nearest

Forever Friday

We live in a materialistic world spending our time in search of something, anything that will satisfy our aching need for happiness, value and worth...

I remember when we were first married; spending hours dreaming as I leafed through the JC Penney or Sears catalogs. I was confident that if my house was furnished and decorated ‘just so’ that I would definitely be happier. Shopping became one of my favorite past times. As time went on, the value of the ‘wants’ escalated from small items to furniture; furniture to cars; and cars to houses ~ sound familiar? It was a never ending process.

I discovered that the trouble with basing your happiness on materialistic desires is the ‘new’ quickly wears off and you find yourself off on another search for your happiness fix. It leaves you with an emptiness that yearns for more and more.

There is a real art to being content ~ living in the present and not comparing what's going on here and now to what was, or will be…

I can’t say I was ever discontent as a child. We didn’t have a lot, but what we didn’t have in material things we had in nature and each other. I grew up on a ranch, the fourth child in a family of six. We played for hours outside letting our imaginations run rampant. It was a wonderful place for a kid to grow up. My desire for material things didn’t really peak until later on in life. Instead of being satisfied and living in the present (which is actually all we really have), I was more concerned with what tomorrow would bring. Sadly, I missed so much in the here and now and you can never go back as time waits for no one.

I need reminded of the blessings God has bestowed on my life each and every day…

Being that I’m human, I will always have wants and desires for earthly treasures. But if this journey has taught me anything, I have learned that living in the moment can bring tremendous joy and satisfaction! Do I achieve that every day? Not even close! I’m writing this as much to myself as to anyone else. What I do know is this: you don’t need ‘things’ to have ‘worth’. You are deemed to have worth quite simply because you’re a child of God’s ~ He delights in you!

The best things in life are nearest:  Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you.  Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.  ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Things such as:

v  enjoying the precious moments with your kids and grandkids

v closing your eyes and inhaling the aroma of a fragrant rose

v listening to the birds as they wake you on a beautiful spring morning

v savoring the taste and texture of your favorite food ~ can I say cheesecake!

v warming your hands with a mug of hot coffee on a cold winter’s day while the scent of cinnamon rolls wafts through the room

v viewing the beauty and grace of a doe with her fawn by her side

v lying on the grass and gazing at the stars one warm summer’s night

v listening to the laughter of children playing

v smelling the amazing scent of the pines in a mountain forest

v drinking in the magnificence of God’s spectacular creation ~ the options are endless!

Not to say that it’s inherently wrong to own nice things; it just shouldn’t be our primary focus in life…

I’ve learned on this journey called life that what’s really important is to know in your heart who you really are; that you have worth and value ~ an eternal value that can come only from God.

Take some time and enjoy your journey,

Susan