Just Wait Until (Contentment)
It’s easy to find ourselves looking ahead to the next season of life, thinking that perhaps we’ll be happier when things change. But God has been teaching me that contentment isn’t found in the next stage, but in trusting His faithfulness through every season.
FAITH
Laura Pelletier
10/14/20265 min read
Just Wait Until
Three simple words, when taken to heart, can create all sorts of discontentment within even the happiest of people.
“Just wait until you can drive.”
“Just wait until you graduate.”
“Just wait until you’re married.”
“Just wait until you have kids.”
“Just wait until your kids are more independent.”
Then you will get your desires, then you will be happy.
If we choose to succumb to this line of thinking, we can quickly find ourselves trapped in a cycle of discontentment that, if left unchecked, can slowly poison our joy.
I have often battled discontentment in my own life, wondering if the next stage of life would hold something better or something I desired more. But through each of those seasons, God has continually taught me how to be content because He is faithful to me throughout every season of life.
And now, when I look back over the seasons of my life, I can see His faithfulness in every one.
My childhood.
High school.
College.
Single adulthood.
Marriage.
Motherhood.
Painful seasons.
Seasons of waiting.
Seasons of grief.
God was faithful through all of them.
He Is Faithful
God gave me a loving, God-fearing family who pointed me toward Christ throughout my childhood.
He is faithful.
Through some difficult circumstances, God moved our family to a new church when I was in high school. Through the teaching there and the influence of a particular mentor, I grew tremendously in my faith.
He is faithful.
In college, I chose to go on a mission trip one summer rather than work. When I came home to begin my last year of college, I had a bill that I had no idea how I was going to pay.
God provided for me through an unknown scholarship that covered almost the exact amount I was short on my bill.
He is faithful.
As an adult, God chose to have me wait what felt like forever before He provided my husband.
But He didn't waste those years of waiting.
He gave me opportunities to disciple teenage girls and serve within my church. He used those years to grow me and prepare me. What felt like waiting to me was never wasted in God's hands.
He is faithful.
And then, in June of 2025, my dad learned that he had a heart condition. Three weeks later, he passed away.
Losing my dad has been the deepest sorrow I have ever experienced.
But through this season, I have come to understand the comfort of our loving Father in a way I never had before.
I would never choose that pain, but I can see God's faithfulness even there.
He is faithful.
Here is a prime example of contentment in our circumstances.
In Philippians 4:10–12, Paul writes:
“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” — Philippians 4:10–12 (ESV)
Paul experienced many ups and downs throughout his ministry. He knew what it was to have plenty and what it was to be in need. He faced suffering, hardship, and seasons of uncertainty, yet he learned how to be content in every circumstance.
Notice that Paul says he learned to be content. Contentment is something we grow in as we walk with the Lord and learn to trust His faithfulness, regardless of our circumstances.
What a beautiful reminder that contentment doesn't come from having the life we wish we had. It comes from knowing and trusting the God who remains faithful through every season.
Throughout each season of my life, I have battled discontentment. And yet, when I look back, I can see how God used each season to grow my faith, teach me, draw me closer to Himself, and give me opportunities to serve Him.
He has been faithful through every one.
So now, when I am tempted to look ahead and wonder what the next season might hold, I am reminded that I don't need to spend my life waiting for what comes next.
I need to be faithful here.
I need to grow here.
I need to seek to know my faithful Father here.
Especially now, as a mother, I don't want to wish away the stages of motherhood that are so precious, no matter how difficult they may sometimes be.
My precious children are a gift at every stage.
And I believe my Father can be known more fully through each one.
I have loved every age my children have been, and I have come to the conclusion that I will miss them at every age.
The newborn stage.
The baby stage.
The toddler stage.
Every stage that will come.
I know there will be hard days. There will be days when I am tired and days when I wonder how I am going to make it through.
But I don't want to spend those days wishing for the next stage.
Because this stage is a gift, too.
And oh boy, am I LOVING being a mama.
I can genuinely say that I have loved every season of my life, even the difficult ones. Not because every season has been easy, but because God has been faithful through all of them.
So I pray that I will continue to find my joy in Christ.
Rather than fixing my gaze on the future and what it could be, or what I wish it would be, I pray that I will keep my eyes firmly fixed on my God.
And I pray that I will enjoy the good gifts He has given me today.
Because there will always be another “just wait until.”
But there will never be another today.
He is faithful in every season and every stage. He can use us while we wait, in our pain, through our trials, and even in our joy. He can use every season of our lives for our good and for His glory.
Psalm 36:5
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
As I look back on every season, I am reminded that His faithfulness has never changed.
