The List...

We all have that list. It's that checklist of things where we say, "If I only had _______, ________, _________, and ________, then my life would be so much easier and I could better handle what life is throwing at me." Oh, the list. It may change from time to time. You may add a few items if you're life gets rougher than usual, or possibly (most likely never) take away an item that you believe has become obsolete. But... there's always the list.

Personally, I have fallen into this line of thinking many times and find myself dwelling on this idea more often than I should. I have even come up with my own list of things, which probably isn't much different from many other "wish lists" out there. Here it is (in no particular order). If I just had:

1.) my own car,

2.) a Macbook Pro,

3.) no more college debt,

4.) a wife,

and 

5.) a never ending supply of vanilla ice cream that didn't melt in the heat,

I would be much better off.

That's not too much to ask for right? Ok, that last one was just thrown in there for good measure, but how cool would it be to have ice cream that never melted and have it whenever your heart desired? For the rest of the list, though, I feel like I'm not asking for too much. I have perfectly logical and even honorable reasons why I could "better serve God" after having these items checked off the list. In my mind, the opportunities would be endless. There's part of the point. Things work out a lot better for me in my mind. 

The reality, however, is that I'm really just not very content with what God has given me and it's easy for me to compare my current situation to those around me who I believe to be "better off than me." "If I only had what they had," I grumble, "then I could do so much more." For some reason it's hard for us to just accept what God has provided for us and be thankful for those things. I, like everyone else, have ample reasons to be thankful for the blessings God has given me. This is not to say, "Oh, well at least I'm not as bad off as that person." It doesn't matter what that person has. It doesn't matter what I don't have. What does matter is that God has given each one of us gifts, talents, abilities, and resources (even if we sometimes think we should have more) that are within His plan for our lives, and He wants us, expects us even, to do the very best we can with what we have. 

Take a moment today to think about things you can praise God for and how you can use what you have been given to serve Him to the best of your ability.