Contentment
- What is Contentment?
- How are we Content?
- Why should we practice the virtue of Contentment?
- When do we practice the virtue of Contentment?
We are Memorizing The Prayer: O Lord! Plant this tender seedling in the garden
O Lord! Plant this tender seedling in the garden of Thy manifold bounties, water it from the fountains of Thy loving-kindness and grant that it may grow into a goodly plant through the outpourings of Thy favor and grace. Thou art the Mighty and the Powerful.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
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Memorize
‘Abdu’l-Bahá was content with the Will of God under all conditions. He used to tell those around Him that it is easy to be content when everything is going well, when one is healthy and living in comfort. What is more difficult is to feel happy and content in times of trouble, in times of illness and hardship. In spite of all the suffering that filled His life, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá never became disheartened. Through the most grave and difficult times, He remained content and thankful to God. He was always cheerful and optimistic. Let us memorize the following quotation so that we will often be reminded of the value of contentment with the Will of God:
The source of all glory is acceptance of whatsoever the Lord hath bestowed, and contentment with that which God hath ordained.
Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
Meaning Of Words
Glory
- After studying science at school, Poh Leng joined a group of scientists. They made many important discoveries. Her work brought glory to her family’s name.
- Swee loved to look at nature—at the mountains, the trees, and the sea. Whenever she saw the beauty of the world, she thought about the majesty and greatness of God, the Creator of all things. Looking at nature made Swee think of the glory of God.
Bestowed
- Paulo thanks God every day for his loving family, his good health, and for all the good things God has given him. Paulo is grateful for the many gifts that God has bestowed on him.
- Without the sun, the earth would be dark and cold, and nothing could live on it. The sun bestows light and warmth upon us.
Send A Postcard To A Friend
Bestow Upon Me My Portion
Chorus:
Bestow upon me my portion
O Lord, O Lord
Bestow upon me my portion
As it pleaseth Thee
It’s easy to be content
When things are going well
It’s easy to be content
When you’re feeling swell
But what is really more challenging
Is to be content when things go wrong
To be patient in times of difficulty
Perhaps even sing a song
Chorus
From the time He was a boy
The Master suffered indignities
From early in His life
He hardly had any comfort or ease
But He remained content and calm Never full of anxiety
He trusted in God and accepted His Will Continued on ever patiently
Chorus
Story About Contentment
Once upon a time in a far away country, there lived a farmer with his wife and son. They all worked together, taking care of their land and animals. Their farm was near the border with another country, which, unfortunately, was constantly at war with theirs.
One day the family’s mare did not return to the stable, and it was soon discovered that it had strayed into enemy territory. Some of the villagers came to the farmer, gave him the bad news and tried to console him. But the farmer did not seem to mind what had happened to his mare. He simply told them, “This could be a blessing.”
Several months later, the mare returned, not alone but with a fine steed of the breed for which the neighbouring country was famous. On hearing the news, the villagers came to see the farmer and congratulate him for becoming the owner of such a wonderful horse. But the farmer was not excited; he observed, “This could be a misfortune.”
The farmer’s son wanted to ride the new steed, and so he did. But the animal turned out to be wild and threw the young man violently to the ground. His hipbone was broken and for a long time he was unable to walk. Visitors came again to console the family for this tragic accident. But the farmer, as usual, remained calm and repeated the remark, “This could be a blessing.”
A few months went by. The enemy tribes invaded the country and the government recruited all the young able-bodied men into the army. By the end of the war, many of the young men in the village had been killed. The young man of our story, because of his broken hip, was not taken into the army, so he survived.
A misfortune had turned into a blessing, then into a misfortune, and finally into a blessing again.
Sculptor
Select one child in the class to be the “sculptor”. He or she chooses another child to come to the front of the group and take some kind of position, for example, bent over with arms stretched out. One by one, the other children are called to the front of the group and added to the sculpture, each in a different position, making one large unusual shape. When all the children have become part of the sculpture, the sculptor adds him or herself as the final piece
Bracelet or Make A Badge
Make a bracelet, this can be beaded with the letter spelling out the word CONTENTMENT on it or just a simple bracelet.
It can be made to play the following game during the week at home:
For this game the bracelet would serve as a reminder to “be content”, and the children would start the day out with the bracelets, but they would however be lost if the children complained over the course of the day. If they could have a full day with no complaints, there was a family treat they would have e.g. going out for dinner.
As being grateful is a big part of being content – a contentment acrostic poem could be done.
In addition to adding a virtue card to the virtue ring (as sometimes we spend two weeks on a lesson – the second week could have the acrostic poem on one side, and the virtue written with stickers on the other
Color Page
Download the page with the quote to color from teacher pay Teachers here
ANOTHER page to Color with quote Download here