Be content with where God has placed you

When I was a little girl I always wanted to be a famous singer. My parents bought me a karaoke machine one year and I used it until it literally broke. I would sing (scream) Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson and just dance around the living room without a care in the world. I just loved to sing and didn't know if I was good or bad I just knew I loved it! 

As I got older I still loved to sing but also became more self conscious about it. The little girl who would sing in front of anyone fearlessly was now a teenage girl who got scared to sing in front of people because she thought she wasn't good enough. I remember as a teenager watching the Voice and thinking “I wish that was my life, I wish I was that good”. My dream of wanting to be a famous singer was no longer a fun childish one, but one that began to eat away at my self confidence and made me wish that I had that “glamorous” life.    

I am in no way saying dreams are bad, I love dreams! I have crazy dreams that will most likely not happen but, what can I say I’m a dreamer. Being a dreamer I often have to remind myself to be content with where God has placed me. This has been my daily prayer lately. 

Sometimes we want our “dream life” so badly that it begins to consume us. We desperately crave our fantasy but, we don't appreciate where God has us right now! We become ungrateful for the things we have and begin to use the words “I wish” too often. 

One of the most dangerous things is that we begin to compare ourselves with the people who have our “dream life”. I know too well how much comparison can ruin you. It will destroy your self confidence leaving you feeling unworthy. I often have to get off of social media because I begin to compare myself to the beautiful people in the edited pictures. 

God didn't create us so we could try to be someone else.

I really have struggled with this and continue to. A couple years ago I decided I really wanted to pursue a career in music. I went through a training program, voice lessons, and even preformed in a big showcase in front of several industry “VIP’s”. I was expecting to walk out of there with a contract and a record deal. I was so ready to go back home and quit my two jobs and move to L.A. Guess what? It didn’t happen. 

When I got home I auditioned for The Voice, didn't make it. 

Tried to get represented by a management company, denied. 

Sought out artist development with the management company, never happened. 

Through all of this I realized I wasn't doing it for the right reasons. I really struggled with being grateful with where God had put me. It wasn't until I begin to ask God into my struggles that I became content with my life. 

We need to focus more on where God has placed us now than day dreaming about where we want our life to go. He has a purpose for us now. God has placed you in this season for a reason. 

I want to encourage you to dream big. Strive to reach big goals. But don't forget to rejoice in the day the Lord has given you. He has you where you are for a purpose. Embrace the season you are in and don't be discouraged about what you have not accomplished. Ask God for His will to be done and not your own! Worry about nothing and ask God to restore your happiness! Ask Him to daily use you to further His kingdom. Keep your focus on Him and you will have a “dream life”. It may not be what you had in mind but it will bring you so much joy! 

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. ~Philippians 4:4-8~

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ~Matthew 6:25-26~

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.             

~Philippians 4:11-13~