Contented

 

“But Godliness with contentment is great gain.”  

–I Timothy 6:6

 

It’s the coldest morning of the year. 

 

23 degrees at daylight.

 

I always think of old drafty houses on days like this.

 

We lived in The Old House as a boy, and I still shudder at the memory of the icy wind whistling under the door.

 

In my five-year-old mind, I still sprint across the frigid dogtrot hall from a warm bed to a hot breakfast in the kitchen.

 

Yes, I think of old, cold houses on mornings like today.

 

And the people who live in them.

 

I think about Shirley.

 

She’s my mom’s best friend and one of my dearest lifetime ones.

 

Shirley lives alone in the old house she inherited from her parents.

 

She is a shut-in, a person unable to get out on her own.

 

She’s dependent on others to help her.

 

And that’s what Dry Creek Community does best. We look after our people.

 

She lives and sleeps in the front room of her house. A gas stove provides all of her heat.

 

I called Shirley to see how she did last night.

 

She assures me she is warm, bundled up in a quilt, feet by the fire, FOX News on her TV, and doesn’t need a thing.

 

Her pipes are wrapped, and she left her sinks dripping overnight.

 

I don’t feel sorry for Shirley, and neither should you.

 

She lives with a rock-solid, tested faith in Jesus. She’s never alone.

 

Shirley lives surrounded by people who check in on her daily. Tamara, Double-Cousin Donna, Mark at Atkinson Propane, her faithful friend and cousin Donald Lee, her Church Family, and a cast of Dry Creek characters too numerous to mention.

 

Her house may be old and drafty, but she doesn’t really live alone.

 

Shirley’s not cold today.

 

Nor is she lonely.

 

She’s contented.

 

And that’s a good word, which isn’t affected by the weather.

 

Contented.

 

“For I have learned to be content in whatever situation I’m in.”

– Paul writing from a prison cell in Philippians 4:11