Content in my roles

Sad to say, but this is my first blog in 2012...Happy St. Patrick's day everyone (a very rainy green day in LB)! I've been telling myself that I really need to update this blog and inform you all on the happenings of the new Jeffrey household. Then I decided I was too busy and that was okay because I was in full time school and part time work and learning to be a "good wife".
My friend, Rachel, and I (who I met through our church in Long Beach and who also got married last summer) have been getting together for coffee once a week and just talking about life as newlyweds and students and employees. It's been really fun getting to know her more and more, and in the last few weeks we've picked up a book to go through together. Written by Linda Dillow, called "Calm My Anxious Heart" (the perfect topic for any woman really!). The first and second chapters really focused on finding contentment with our current circumstances. The third chapter "content to be me" was kind of a replay of high school girls small group lessons. But this last chapter hit me hardest with the title "content with my role". Seems simply enough right? I figured I am very content with my role as a new wife. But am I content with my role as a student, as a co-worker, as a low-income household, as a neighbor to the lost, as a habitant of Long Beach, as a big sister and first-born daughter.
There are so many roles that encompass my life now that I think sometimes I forget to enjoy them and take advantage of the ones that are only here for a season. I met with an advisor in the College of Health and Human Sciences this last week to discuss my plan to graduate. With all my transfer credits, it is still going to take me three more years (on top of my past four) to finally graduate with a B.S. Spring 2015. So my thought is to take as many summer courses and cut off at least a semester or two! But does God want me to be at Long Beach State until 2015? I didn't consider that. There are many other examples I could give you about realizations such as this one...God you have me here right now, let me use this place and position to glorify you.
I want to show you the closing of that chapter "content with my role" as it lays out perfectly what our response should be to God's portion for us.

"Our assigned role is also a trust. In His love He has given each of us the gift to singleness or the gift of marriage or the gift of widowhood. In His sovereignty, He has said it is in this role we can best glorify Him. Will you trust that your assigned cup and portion came from His loving hand? Will you choose to use your role as a place to serve others?"

 Every stage or role that we play in life has its joys, and heartaches. But I need to remind myself day in and day out to stop fighting against what God has given me and to ask Him for the courage I need to be a humble servant in my roles; to be faithful to Him, accepting His gift of making me a wife, a waitress, a student, a sister, a daughter, a friend..