We started off the morning by going to one of the many parks in Yankton to play softball; both of these kids play ball, and I thought it would be great fun to play together. And it was. Until they started to "lose". It wasn't even a competition, but as soon as one didn't get his or her way, the fun ended. The kid would storm off, and the other kid and I would be left there with nothing fun to do. This occurred with softball and tag -- the things we tried to do together.
After the softball fail, we went over to the playground. One kid became a monkey and entertained himself on the playground. The other kid didn't want to be at the park. She sat and complained about the park, about the heat, about everything. She wanted to go in the pool. She wanted to go play somewhere else. No matter what we did, it was never good enough.
I sat there listening to her, and telling her things like, "You know, if we went to the pool you would complain about that too. It doesn't matter what we do; you always want to do something else. Why don't you appreciate the park and play with me and your brother?" Friends, I do not like sugar-coating things for children. I like to tell them how it is. No fluff. They can handle the truth.
As I sat talking with her, I had to chuckle to myself and say, "Okay, God. I get it."
I am so similar to my little cousin. I too have that "grass is greener" mentality in life. Let's be real; my heart tends to look like this mess:
My summer has been a time of complaining to myself. I don't really want to be here. Part of me wants to be back in Ghana; I want to get on with things and go to Eastern Europe and Russia already (so that I can come home sooner). I don't want to go to Eastern Europe and Russia. I want to stay in South Dakota. I want to find a job in Sioux Falls and be a Young Life leader. I want to trade in my summer, but I also want to trade in my fall, winter, and spring. I have to say to myself, "It doesn't matter what God gives you; you always want something else."
Oops. That's so true. And so I spent the day listening to a kid echo my attitude. And I spent the day challenging her to embrace the moment with me as I embraced the moment with her. I actually lived on Tuesday. I tried to have fun and enjoy the fact that I get to spend the summer with my family.
The day still had its challenges, and I still struggle with my "grass is greener" mentality. (My next post will be more on my attitude and how it affects my next year plans.)
Somehow, a shift happened during the day. My cousins and I went to the beach in the afternoon. On our way back into town, my cousin said, "I'm glad we didn't go to the pool. I'm glad we waited for the beach. It was a lot of fun. Thanks for taking us. Sorry about my attitude earlier today."
When she said those words, I knew she was right. The beach was loads of fun -- way better than the pool would have been if we had settled for it.
And even though I want to settle for what I could have here and now and stay in South Dakota and enjoy the comfort of a steady job and a ministry that I understand well, I know that the "beach" is worth the wait. I need to wait for September and the adventure of spending ten months doing ministry over in Eastern Europe and Russia. I need to wait for whatever is after that. I need to trust that it's worth the wait. And I need to embrace the playground of South Dakota while I have it. I need to live in the present and trust that the future is good. Because it's the blessing I've been given, and I should embrace that beautiful, beautiful plan.
What playground do you need to embrace today? What beach do you need to wait for? What pool do you need to say "no" to in order to fully enjoy the beach later?
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