Heidi spent the weekend up in Indy; she lives in Bloomington, and her schedule has gotten quite busy this summer, so I usually only get to see her on weekends. She came up Friday night for a game night with my Young Adult group, and spent the night; Saturday was spent reading and relaxing before I went to work, then I came back and we spent the evening together at dinner with my family before they left for the Bahamas. Sunday, we went to church, to dinner with friends, and then did some errands to get ready for the wedding, before going to church that evening. After church, she and I went out to dinner, just the two of us.

When we sat down at the table, I realized that I had left my cell phone in my car, so I went to get it. I stood up, leaned over and gave her a kiss, and told her, "I'm very ..." and I paused. I was going to say that I was happy, but somehow that didn't seem quite right. So I smiled, kissed her cheek again, and told her, "I'm very content right now."

Happiness is an emotion, a temporary state or condition. But content reaches deeper; it's more lasting. Paul said, "Whatever state I'm in, I've learned to be content." It's a satisfaction that isn't dependent upon circumstances or situations or anything like that; it's a deep, condition-of-the-heart sort of thing. And in my life, I am content. At church, with Heidi, and the direction I'm going, I am content.