Archive: True Contentment

I forgot to post an archive yesterday :) sorry about that. Here it is, though.. took me a while to decide. This is called "True Contentment" -it's a fictional short story that I wrote on October 6, 2007. As always, let me in on your thoughts. Thanks. :) ~Bethany

~~~True Contentment~~~

"Sure, I'm content whatever the circumstance," you say to your best friend on the phone as you straighten your hair and fix your makeup. You pick up your cell phone. 4 new text messages. You reply, then move on to the computer. 18 new emails. You glance at the clock. Time to go. You jump in your new car and head to school. You wave to your friends on your way to the locker. Your boyfriend is already there. You walk to class together. At lunch you sit with your circle of friends and listen to the latest gossip. On your way home you stop by the mall and pick up a new outfit for your date on Friday. You get home and turn your iPod on as you check your email. You reply to a few of the important ones and IM a few friends before you remember you have band practice at the church in half an hour. You forget your Bible as you rush out the door. You pull up to the huge church building, unimpressed by its stature. You glance in the rear view mirror to make sure your makeup and hair are still ok. Maybe freshen up your lip gloss. You go into the sanctuary and greet everyone on your way to the stage. You check the songs to make sure you know them, then rush through practice. On your way to youth group you criticize the other singers in your mind, then sigh. Well, not everyone can sing as well as I can. You go into youth group and grab a snack before sitting down. You notice a new girl, but she's wearing such boring clothes and no make up. You think she must be middle-eastern. You quickly forget she's there. So does everyone else. Before you know it the youth pastor steps up to speak and you realize you forgot your Bible. You're embarrassed, but quickly forget about it as you enjoy the warmth of your boyfriend's arm around you. You get lost in your planning for his birthday party, and before you know it, it's time to sing. You half-heartedly sing the songs, wishing you could hurry up and get home so you can watch your favorite TV show. Finally, the service is over. You grab your purse and start to head out the door when you hear your name. You turn to see your best friend waving at you to wait up. Reluctantly you obey. When she catches up she starts talking a mile a minute. "Wasn't that sermon incredible? It was just what we were talking about this morning!" huh? you wonder. what were we talking about? you can't remember, but she keeps talking. "And did you see Hannah crying?" who is Hannah? suddenly you remember the foreign girl sitting alone. "Jenny said that Hannah's family is from Iraq. I can't imagine living there. It must have been so scary! Jenny said they came to the country about 6 years ago." You finally reach your car, and wish that your friend would stop talking so you could leave. "I think that Hannah's family were Christians even while they were in Iraq. I bet that's why she was crying. I bet they were persecuted a lot." Persecuted? What on earth was the pastor's sermon about? you push the thoughts away and say "I'm sorry, but I've gotta go. I'll talk to you later, ok? Call me." Confused, your friend agrees, and you drive off. You start to wonder about Hannah, but push it out of your mind as you think about what to get your boyfriend for his birthday. You remember the CD he's been wanting for a while, so you stop by the store and buy it for him. When you get home you immediatley turn on the TV and watch your show. When its over you head to your room and get onto the computer. Around eleven you finish off your homework and roll into bed. You wake up way to early the next morning. You get in the shower, your mind foggy. As you're drying and straigtening your hair you start to think about Hannah again. Why does she keep sticking in my head? The phone rings. It's your best friend. "Hey, can you come early to school? We're going to have a special prayer meeting at the flagpole ." Sigh. You glance at your watch. "Yeah, I can be there in half an hour." Your friend thanks you, then gets off. You rush to get ready, wondering what's up that caused this surprise meeting. You don't really like these prayer meetings, but you go since your youth group does it. You pull up exactly thirty minutes later and join the crowd. You're surprised to see Hannah talking. She's giving a testimony. You listen closely, intrigued. She says she was born in Iraq and that her family was Muslim until she was four. Then a missionary came to their town. Her father heard his message and got saved. Then her mother, her brothers and eventually she, herself, made a commitment to Christ. Immediately her family began to be persecuted. They were already poor, living in terrible conditions with no modern conveniences. They would meet with an underground church when they could, but it wasn't often. Sometimes people would get caught and would get in very bad trouble with the government - some were killed. Hannah would get very scared and cry to sleep sometimes, afraid of what might happen to them. But her mother would always comfort her and remind her of the promise of Jesus to care for her. She learned to trust God and her relationship with Him grew abundantly. As she grew older she began to understand how poor her family was, but it didn't bother her. She trusted that God had given them everything they needed.The only thing that bothered her was the violence happening to Christians in her own town, all around her. She was struggled with trusting God every time her father left for work. Then, right before she turned eleven, her father disappeared. She was terrified and cried out to God. She thought she would never see her father again, but a month later, he showed up on their doorstep, half dead. As soon as he as nursed to health again, they came to America. She was shocked by everything she saw here. She knew about a lot of the stuff because her friends had some "American" things, but she was amazed by little things like makeup, iPods and the tiny cell phones. She couldn't believe all the churches everywhere, and how big they were. And that everyone had Bibles. Before too long she started struggling with lust and contentment. She began to wish she could have things that the other girls had. The clothes, the hair, the makeup, the phones, even the boyfriends. She began to forget what her life was like in Iraq, but last night at youth group God reminded her, and she realized how she was dishonoring God by not being content in whatever circumstance he gave her - the good, as well as the bad. She remembered how she hadn't cared at all in Iraq that she didn't have a TV - only that she didn't have a Bible. But in America she had learned to take things for granted, and it scared her. "So today," she said, "I wanted to confess my struggles to you and ask you to help me be content in every situation. Pray for me! Pray that I'll be like I was in Iraq - that my only discontentment would come from not having enough of Jesus in my life." You look around. Everyone's nodding. You realize you're crying. As everyone breaks into pairs to pray, your best friend comes to pray with you. She notices you crying and asks what's wrong. You try to explain, but can't. She just sits with you. As you calm down she starts praying for you. And it makes you start crying all over again. Finally you stop and she looks at you. You apologize. You begin to tell her why you're upset. You tell her how selfish you are. You tell her about your absent-mindedness the night before at youth group. You tell her how you felt when you thought about the danger that people are put in every day because of their faith. How it scared you. How it made you realize that you'd never make it. And how THAT scared you. And before you know it, you hear yourself confessing that you can't even go a day without straightening your hair and putting on makeup. She squeezes your hand. You say you know what to do now. She asks. You explain. She smiles. You smile. You go to class, life goes on. But you've changed. You know something's different. Strangely, you don't want to sit with your normal group of friends - you sit with the poor kids. When you get home, you read your Bible instead of checking your email. You hide your iPod and turn off your cell phone and begin to pray. For the first time, you pour your heart out to God. You confess to him your discontentment and lust and your sin. You tell Him you're going to give up everything and learn to be content with Him. That you love Him and want Him to be Lord of your live. You know what you have to do, and it hurts. You break up with your boyfriend. You limit your time on the phone, computer and iPod. You don't straighten your hair or do your makeup unless you've had your devotions. You get to school early to pray. You greet the new kids at church. You're living a new life. And you're finally in a relationship with your Creator.

Wow,

9:49 AM, May. 12, 2008 .. Posted by BreezyTulip

That was a great post.Very encouraging. I've been trying to cut down on unnecessary things (especially the junk I don't need).

It is so peaceful, even in the craziest of times to know that you can have a simple life and be totally devoted to Christ. Thanks for posting that.

BTW, I like your header - very cute :)

Blessings,
-Breezy

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11:48 AM, May. 12, 2008 .. Posted by Caity

That was really good! Very encouraging!
I love how you 've written it as though it's the reader being referred to. :)

This is actually a bit like what I've been going through. God has been showing me how many unnecessary things I'd let into my life and that I'd let come out of their place. Anyway, thanks so much for sharing. :)

In Christ,
Caity

Edited by Caity on May. 12, 2008 at 10:51 AM

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11:14 PM, May. 12, 2008 .. Posted by Cyndi Kay

Great post! :) I really enjoyed it... especially right now! Thanks!!!

I'm gonna miss you too! :(

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11:16 PM, May. 12, 2008 .. Posted by Modemom

Just read your story, Beth. Great food for thought no matter what your age! Love, Grandma