I bet reading that title makes one second guess. Is she going to present something not up to par? A life chased after? A dream deferred?
Close. What I want to share today is the paradox of looking for bigger and better and finding it exists in the small and ordinary.
This summer my 3 boys, husband and mom decided to check out a special festival in our own town that was fairly new. The only thing I knew about it, was they put on a solid fireworks show and that seemed reason enough to go fight a crowd.
We didn’t bring much since we live less than a mile down the road, so we had only what was in the car already for comfort and fun. We hiked from our parking spot on the shoulder of the busy road to see what was offered with our one blanket and some light up rocket copters.
After a quick slushy treat and listening to some music live on stage, we found a spot where there were less people and let the boys run around with the rocket copters. Our blanket was spread out ready for the show at dusk and we just took a moment to breathe as we waited. We took turns watching the boys, doing bathroom runs, and talking on the blanket. When it came time for the show we sat back and enjoyed fireworks for 45 MINUTES. I’ve never been to one for so long. To be honest, it was almost too long. We were close to the action, the sound was pretty deafening and some of the fireworks were repetitive. I have now learned that a 15-20 minute show is probably just right for me.
I say all that to share this. I have spent my life excited to instill joy in others. In my early days, this came from lots of obvious blessings: Good parents, happy home, food on my table, usually nice friends (not without struggle there), solid education, participation in sports and activities, comfortable church home. From the outside, it was easy and carefree.
In the growing and raising of a new family, I’ve learned that joy can seem a little more elusive. We can easily be drowned in our daily adult tasks and chores. We long for independence and then we sink or swim when we gain it. Most of us feel like we are doggy paddling or treading, just trying to keep our head above the water. “This isn’t what I longed for,” we think. “Where’s that excitement now? Why am I feeling overwhelmed and inept?”.
You’re not alone. The struggle -as we often hear from our counterparts- is real. But the struggle is not unworthy. It is the very journey we need to go through in order to learn some VERY important lessons. The one I write about here is GRATEFULNESS.
When we go looking for the big firework show, we are often disappointed. Perhaps that is because we missed the show altogether, it didn’t deliver as we expected, or because after its over, life goes back to normal. It could be the career climb for the perfect job and getting told no again and again, finding Mr. or Ms. Right and realizing they are a flawed human being, or finally getting pregnant and painfully losing the baby along the way.
The show itself might be awesome, but if that is our sole focus, we are missing so many smaller shows along the way.
When I went to watch fireworks, most of my joy from that evening was watching my boys freely run and play. It was from watching my mom jump off the blanket from a spider crawling across. It was from sitting next to my husband and just being together. It was when my 4 year old went running in circles around groups of captivated show watchers. I could go on.
God gives gifts big and small, but I believe there are small ones everywhere, everyday that make our lives more joyful than we can imagine. In this blog, “Less than Fireworks” I will challenge us to see beyond the hardships or frustrations of our daily lives, and turn them around to see blessing upon blessing. Like a treasure hunt for kids, this hunt is for all the things we are too busy to see when life is chaotic. I write these thank you’s down and when I do, my attitude changes. I want less and I thank more. Because I have more than I realized.
This is for you too. Will you join me in this life-changing discipline?