Cultivating Contentment

Last January my husband and I spent our 1 year anniversary in Costa Rica.  Each morning we would wake to the sound of howlers monkeys.  We would cut up fresh papaya for breakfast and go out to the back veranda overlooking the rain forest with the ocean in the distance. This is where we would open our Bibles and spend time with God in His word.  Afterward, we’d venture out to waterfalls in the rainforest where we discovered all sorts of creatures, from spider monkeys to spiders as large as our hands. Once the sun made it too hot to hike, we would head to the beach for an afternoon in the waves.  There were surfers and tourists and locals with their families.  Rather than bake in the sun, most sat in the shade of palm trees.  

We found two restaurants that became our favorites where we enjoyed local dishes like ceviche, raw fish that has been marinated in lime juice, and patacones, fried green plantains.  I had fun trying to resurrect my rusty Spanish with our servers.  It was at one of these places where we met an expatriate form the U.S. who had been coming to Costa Rica for several years.  He told of if the ideal places to stay and what to see.  He told us about a guy in a town south of us that gave excellent boat tours, excellent because they knew the local flora and fauna so well.  That was the only tour we ended up booking.  We had fun getting to see all the animals that we heard from our house every day. I also stumbled my way through in Spanish sharing about the love of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross.  Sharing the Gospel was probably the best part of the trip for me.

After a week of this adventure, the day came when it was time to return to San Jose to catch our flight back to the U.S.  As we drove along the coast, passing palm tree farms where coconut oil was harvested, I began to feel a sadness. Eventually the tears started flowing. I would have to leave all this and return to a place where life was not only ordinary but in the middle of winter.  

Earlier that morning, I had to find a quiet place to myself and have a heart to heart talk with the Lord.  I poured out to Him how I felt life back in Ohio was often dull for me and how I struggled with loneliness, especially in winter when one rarely saw neighbors.  I thought about all the countries where I had lived, where I was always surrounded by people and had endless things to see and do.  I thought about how much I enjoyed facing the daily challenges of living cross-culturally.  As I laid my heart out before the Lord, He began to speak to me.

He showed me that I had an idealistic view of the Christian life and that needed to die.  I realized my adventure seeking attitude about faith that involved always living on the mountain tops rather than experiencing contentment on the level plains.  

Later, as we made our way to San Jose I began to tell my husband of my struggle that morning.  I asked him, “Do you see how I am struggling to return to normal after my previous life has been so adventurous?”  And then he made a comment that made me stop and think.  “Be careful that you aren’t idealizing living cross-culturally.  I’m sure if you looked back on those days you would remember the times that were hard there too and how you also struggled there.”  He was totally right!  While living overseas was certainly never dull, I did face many difficult times.  There were times of loneliness there as well as I faced isolation as locals often kept me in the foreigner category.  I struggled to fit in there too.  I told my husband of the conversation I had had with the Lord that morning about not idealizing the Christian life.  I realized that God had called me to cultivate a life of contentment and faithfulness in the normalcy and the often mundane. As we closed the distance to San Jose, I offered up a prayer thanking God for placing me where He had me and as I did, peace flooded my heart.  

Thinking back on that day I’m reminded that “godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6)  As I continue to struggle with the same thoughts even today, I now thank God for where He has placed me.  I’m learning to find my contentment in Christ alone no matter where I am at.