There’s more to life than brunch & puppies.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. And what was I doing a few minutes ago?

Being discontent. Ugh.

Get ready for another episode of Brutal Honesty with Bethany. Can I stick an emoji rolling its eyes right here?

Earlier this afternoon I started thinking about the house we just bought, and going over all the things we still need to do to make it “us.” It’s a long list. A long list of demands and wishes and scouring Craigslist and IKEA and Target and Facebook Marketplace. A list that might as well be titled, “All the reasons I am discontent with THE HOUSE WE JUST BOUGHT.”

A few minutes ago, I was on Facebook (problem #1) and as I scrolled (problem #2), I saw pictures of perfect brunch dishes, videos of friends’ dogs, and perfectly posed couples’ photographs. And I started to sink into the discontentment funk. Why don’t I wear cute rompers while brunching, or host marvelous brunches myself? Why don’t I have a puppy? Why don’t I have recent adorable professional photos of my husband and I, because clearly everyone else in the world gets new ones taken every month?

If you’ve read this far, you might be groaning out loud. “Ok Bethany, we get it. You ALWAYS struggle with discontentment. Why are you blogging about it again?”

Because sometimes we need the reminder that it’s not about the social media posts. I think we forget that so often. Sometimes we need the reminder that our life goal should not be to make our life as beautiful and aesthetic as possible. Sometimes we need the reminder that our life is already beautiful.

So friend, love your life.

Love the messy, non-curated closet.

Love the moments when it’s just you, Jesus, and a good cup of tea.

Love the Saturday mornings when you’re not out brunching, but instead sleeping late with your unmatched pillows + throws.

Love your style, including the same worn-out shoes you wear all the time, or the same pair of earrings you forget to change.

Love your weird habits like eating peanut butter toast for breakfast every morning, or always clipping your nails short because you play an instrument.

Love the gift of today that God has given you.

Love that you know and do a bunch of random things instead of just having a thing that is “your thing.”

Love the night stand you got for free, or the framed print you found at a yard sale for $5.

Love the ways He shows you grace time and time and time again.

Love your pet, whatever it is.

Love your dwelling-place.

Love where God has you–both in the stage of life and your literal location.

Life isn’t always postcard-worthy shots, lattes and muffins, rose bouquets, flat lays, manicures, and calligraphy. Life is the moments with your best friend where you can’t stop laughing. Life is the moments you don’t ‘gram. It’s knowing Jesus and seeking to know Him more and be more like Him every day. It’s authentic community, taking the time to get to know people. It’s taking cookies to your neighbors and inviting them to church. It’s realizing when God has answered prayer, remembering His faithfulness, and thanking Him for the wild, crazy, beautifully imperfect life He has given you.

I could have started this blog post with, instead of “Tomorrow is Thanksgiving,” “Today I was loved and blessed by God. And I was just being discontent.” Let’s all make the effort to be more thankful, more content, with our lives and the things we have.

 

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

 

I found this fantastic playlist to get us in the right spirit of Thanksgiving. Enjoy!