Have you thought lately about your roles in life?
I’m not talking about those fresh cinnamon rolls in the oven (although if that is the case, I would appreciate an invite over to your house… or you can mail them to me.) I also don’t mean the little rolls of “fluff” that might accumulate around your waistline after too many of the aforementioned pastry snacks.
Today’s post is all about the roles in life that God has called us to fill.
Take just a moment to spiritstorm your roles… Got ‘em? Here’s some of mine:
Army wife. Mama-in-progress. Minister. Writer. Speaker. Puppy mama. Friend. Sister. Daughter. Encourager. Leader. Cinnamon-roll eater.
(Ok, just kidding on that last one.)
But seriously—the roles in our life can be a primary source of contentment—or discontentment, depending on how we choose to fill them.
I personally am a huge fan of being married. Well, not just being married, but specifically my role to be the wife of my beloved Brandon. We have been married two years, and I am <still> crazy about him.
However, my role is not just to be his wife—I am an ARMY wife. That adds a whole new dimension to the role that I have been called to by God. I could choose to dwell on the army part of that role and wish for other circumstances, or I can rejoice in the wife part– loving my husband with everything I have, second to Jesus.
It doesn’t matter if you are married, single, widowed, divorced, whatever… we all have the opportunity to choose if we will embrace the role God has given us… or not.
When it comes to calming our anxious heart and finding contentment, rejoicing in the here and now is key. We can anticipate tomorrow and all the great things to come, but when we spend too much time dreaming about the moment when our role will change from “mama of preschooler” to “empty nester” or for “single” to change to “married,” we miss the joy and contentment that God has provided in the moment.
Linda Dillow, author of the book “Calm my Anxious Heart,” shares some powerful truths when it comes to being content in our roles. She says that we must see our life and roles from God’s perspective. We should THANK God for the role He has given us and embrace it as an overflowing cup instead of a cross to bear.
Fulfilling our roles in life with a content heart is not going to be easy. We will all struggle. But we can trust that God knew what He was doing when He gave us our particular roles.
What roles have you been called to fill in life? Do you struggle with them, sometimes wishing they were different? Are you rejoicing in the here and now with your role or spending your time thinking about tomorrow? Discussion and feedback brings such a new dimension to this blog—leave your comments below.
Sometimes our “roles” might taste like stale bread as in, kind of hard to swallow at the moment. Other times our roles are going to be pretty sweet, like those warm, fresh cinnamon rolls right out of the oven…
Either way, we can cling to the fact that Jesus is the bread of life—He is the one who walks with us to fulfill our roles on a daily basis on our journey to contentment.
Let’s be content with our “roles,” cinnamon or otherwise. When we embrace them from God’s perspective, all our roles have the potential of being sweet.
Hungry for Christ,
SGK
“Stolen bread tastes sweet, but soon your mouth is full of gravel.” ~Proverbs 20:17 MSG
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If you are “officially” participating in the online Bible Study “Calm My Anxious Heart,” here is the homework for the upcoming week, chapter 5.
Day 1–Study Guide: Question 1, Memorize Colossians 3: 12 – 14. Questions 2, 3, 4
Day 2–Study Guide: Questions 5,6,7
Day 3–Study Guide: Questions 8, 9
Day 4–Study Guide: Question 10
Day 5–Study Guide: Questions 11, 12
***Extra***
Word Study: Colossians 3: 12 – 14
Chosen; Holy; Beloved; Kindness; Humility; Patience; Bear (forbear); Forgive; Love; Perfect unity
