It’s the season of counting our blessings. God has been with us in the good times and bad, the abundance or lack. The light is diminishing and the stars and moon are out for longer. My focus turns to the inner life, inside my home, mind, and body. The season of resting and reflecting is nearing.

Focusing on thankfulness is a great beginning to the holiday/winter season. I know the ‘world’ tries to get us caught up in the commercialism of the next two months, but I’m so thankful we know what really matters.

I have been thinking a lot lately about contentment at home. Home is such a necessary and vital place in the winter months. It seems best to make it a haven to sustain us. Home is a place to recover our balance and give us strength to face the world again. It is worth the trouble to make it cozy and welcoming and to fill it with contentment. Contentment means to remember I have all I need. Either it is already in my hands, or it is on its way to me.

According as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.

2 Peter 1:3

This verse is a promise! We know Him and that means we have what we need. We just need to notice it. I have found this verse to be a powerful antidote to my tendency to always want something more. I only need to say to myself- he has given me all things that pertain to life and godliness- and contentment is back in my heart. I have everything I need. With that idea established, I can use a few practical measures to practice contentment.

Ways to Cultivate Contentment at Home

Make a list. List at least 20 reasons I love my home. I’ve made this list before. I wonder if I can make it again and not repeat myself? Thanksgiving and contentment begin with being aware of all I have. I think I’m thankful and know that, in theory, I have many privileges. But that act of taking paper and pen and making an actual list makes it more real for me. This puts the focus on the good and what we focus on grows. I want to take advantage of that!

Give home some love. Tidy up. Rearrange. Declutter. Get out wintery hats, sheets, throws, or drink fixings. Work from gratitude that I have a home to love. Take action on a project that only requires me to do it. I’m not thinking of anything that calls for a trip to town. Focus more on how home feels than on how it looks. Everything I have is something I wished for at one time. At this time, my home could be described as ‘having potential’, but even a little love given to it now reaps a lot of contented feelings. Then it’s always easier to be patient in the process.

Live in possibility instead of security. I learned about this last winter when trying to keep a centerpiece on my table between Thanksgiving and Christmas, without buying anything. I burned all my candles one at a time during supper, then remembered some battery candles I had. The leaves and gourds of Thanksgiving gave way to pine branches and a string of clay beads I made from kitchen ingredients. When the pine branches fell apart, I dried slices of oranges and filled the basket around the candles with them. I changed the container to be smaller or larger as needed. Each time one centerpiece decayed or was used up, I thought it was the end. But after a day or so, something would come to mind. I knew I wouldn’t have anything to put on the table by Christmas, but the dried orange slices lasted! I loved all the different ways the centerpiece evolved. That was a lesson to me that I have what I need. Give it an hour or a day and let something come to me to solve my problem. That is living in possibility instead of immediately heading out to the store for a mass market solution.

Leave a light on. A light is such a welcome sight. In my former house, I liked to leave the shades open so I could see the warm glow from the cozy rooms even from the road. It felt like I was spying on myself, and looking from the outside in adjusted my perspective to see all the blessings I have. I look forward to doing that again, but even leaving the string lights on on the railing is a welcome sight when we open the garage door in this house.

Hunt for beauty. Bring the outside in. The other day, in the snow, I took a walk with the intention to find something beautiful. By the time I came in, I had a handful of seed heads, leaves, and even some red berries. Embrace the uniqueness of nature instead of something commercial. Give myself a little room to be creative. Embellish with a little candlelight, a fall scent in the diffuser. Appreciate a pretty plate of food. Take time to see the glow of lamplight on a child’s smoothly combed hair. Maybe make a list of beautiful things too!

Very likely, none of us live in our dream home. (That’s why it’s called a dream home.) We live in the reality home. But the two are not mutually exclusive. The reality can move closer to the dream, the dream can adapt to reality. And all this can be done with thanksgiving and a feeling of peaceful contentment. That is what I wish for myself and you all as fall gives way to winter.

Contentment: realizing that true happiness does not depend on material conditions.

–Liz

More to boost contentment:

The Ideal Life

We Have Time