Perpetually cold.

Here I am; snowed-in again in Michigan. Today is another 'snow day' due mostly because of the sub-zero windchill factors.
You have no idea how much I dislike the cold. It's why I had a hat on in the middle of the day when I ran a cupcake outside to the garbage man. (Someone had asked about that in the comments...now you know why it was an even 'bigger deal' that I brought a cupcake out to the trashman in the snow and cold on Friday!) I am always cold. Even when we lived in Florida...ask Chip...I would have a big, heavy comforter on my bed at night. I blame it on my mom. =) She's the same way.
You also have no idea how many times I have thanked God for creating me to be born in this century- where we have running hot water, electric blankets if needed, car heaters and homes with furnaces. I don't think I would have survived life as a pioneer woman. I would have never 'gone west'. Or if I had been talked into by Chip, and loaded up my family and belongings in a covered wagon and then gotten caught in a winter storm along the way...I have a strong feeling Chip would have 'accidentally forgotten me' at some point in the trip, or he would have slipped something into my coffee one morning and I simply would have never awakened the next. Yep. My complaining about the cold and our dire situation and the lack of decent living conditions would likely have pushed him over the edge and to be honest with you, I probably wouldn't have blamed him for my death.
Anyway, it's just a thought that I have over and over, and so on really cold days, such as today, I thank God from the bottom of my heart that He didn't make me live in earlier times. I heard a quote about contentment yesterday (I've blogged a few times about contentment and the fact that I think too many Americans in particular are living without it, despite every blessing we have in life), and since I can't remember it exactly, I will paraphase it for myself- just to serve as a good reminder.
Contentment is living without regret for what is past, accepting the reality of what is today, and living without fear of what the future may hold.
I think I could turn that into my mission statement for daily living. It's perfect for me and how I strive to live, day in and day out. I would like to think that IF God had placed me in the 16oo's or 17th or 1800's that I would have had this same heart and desire- even on the coldest, harshest days. And I'm not just referring to the temperatures outside either.
I am learning that living with a heart of contentment means being grateful for where I am at ANY given time, and living that particular moment the way that I was designed and created to be. In doing that, I think God is glorified and that is how I seek to live. The truly amazing thing is that living IN a moment and seeking to be all you can be AT that moment, is when I think contentment is most felt. Contentment isn't something we create or find or strive for....it's within. Mmmmm. That's me. Savoring and enjoying the peace I feel in this moment.