THAT book III - trophies of grace

I thought I would just add another post on THAT book, as I have been reading through sections of it more slowly. Contentment is THE word that invariably comes up in any discussion of singleness, usually within about 15 seconds of anyone broaching the subject, and so it is helpful to tease out just a little what contentment actually looks like, which is what Carolyn McCulley has done in her book, with a take on it I hadn’t quite thought of before. I’ll quote a section (but recommend you read what comes around it too):

"The apostle Paul wrote that he had "learned to be content whatever the circumstances" (Philip. 4:11 NIV). I am grateful for that one word in that incredible phrase – learned - because I tend to focus first on the "whatever the circumstances" part. If the venerable apostle had to learn to be content, I can expect no less.

What does contentment in varied circumstances look like? It is a gracious spirit that is steady and constant. A woman who has learned to be content "takes a licking and keeps on ticking," to quote the old Timex ad ... When we experience changes – the pressures of life, the heat of sin, the cold drafts of loneliness, the damp chill of disappointment, the pitch and roll of shifting circumstances - but we keep a steady pace, we are exhibiting contentment.

...

A contented woman is not impatiently proud. Contentment calls for humility. We have to intentionally humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand when our circumstances don’t work out to our liking. Without a doubt, it is humbling to go year after year with a hope deferred! It’s very humbling to keep showing up at family events as the only single sibling or to go to the wedding of a former boyfriend without a date. But we have to remember that, as Christian women, we’re not here to promote our personal success stories anyway. We’re here as trophies of grace – broken clay jars carrying around incredibly valuable treasure ..."

And if "trophies of grace" sounds a bit esoteric then it includes such basic things as this "He does provide the strength to keep doing the right thing even when all we want to do is pull the covers over our heads and never leave our beds!".