One day while cleaning the kitchen, I thought I could hear running water coming from the den. I threw down the sponge with a “what now?” thought and cautiously peered around the corner to see sudsy water from the old washing machine doing a slow creep toward the dry carpet. I irritably grabbed a mop and lots of clean towels to sop up the mess. I was so worked up by the time my husband came home from work that I offered him a cup of sour whine. He sighed and went to investigate while I not-so-secretly hoped he couldn’t repair it. I wanted a new washer. Then a voice rang out with a happy, “Honey, I fixed it!” (Yay me …)

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5).

Seeing my husband’s tired, relieved face, I was ashamed for the discontent I let roar in my heart and drown my peace and his—again. My hardened heart melted into a hug of real appreciation for his God-given talent that saved us a lot of debt. Contentment slowly settled back in the present because I knew from past experience that my heavenly Father will answer that prayer of want in the way he knows best. For the future, the gift of contentment offers peace in the knowledge that one day there will be no need to clean dirty clothes or fix broken washing machines, because in Jesus, heaven is my forever home.