Several years ago I remember taking Jackson, who was about 3 at the time, down to Minneapolis. Destination: Camp Snoopy in the Mall of America.
We arrived Friday night at my in-laws house in Minneapolis around twilight. During the last hour of daylight Jackson and I decided to explore a small playground down the road from the house. As we made castles in the sand, discovered ant hills together and played on an old swing I couldn't help but think how much more fun tomorrow would hold at the amusement park. As we headed in for the evening, hand in hand, I remember thinking, "If you thought this night was fun buddy, just wait till tomorrow. You'll be in heaven."
Hell might have been a closer metaphor. All those rides. All that junk food. All those people. And to top it all off a three-story statue of snoopy. None of it seemed to satisfy my son that day. Over-stimulation. Over-saturation. Over-kill. And he was overcome. So was I!
As I carried my tear-filled, snotty-nosed, fatigued son through the mall towards the car that day I thought about the simplicity of the playground the night prior. How much more fun we had playing in the sand than conquering lego-land. On the drive home, I thought a lot about MORE and LESS and how they relate to our contentment as people.
Then it occurred to me. It's simplicity, not saturation that's the gateway to gratitude.
Whether kids or adults, we get duped into this lie that the more we have the more content and more grateful we will be. Actually, just the opposite is true. It's in simplicity that we become more grateful. Often when we have less, we learn to appreciate and to be content with the Father's gifts. Simplicity, not saturation is the gateway to gratitude.
During this summer season, I encourage you to be done with the saturated life of MORE. Stop attempting to quench your thirst by drinking out of a fire hydrant! Look for fresh splashes of the clean and refreshing water of God's gifts. And, those droplets of living water are usually organic and ordinary, appear in the mundane aspects of everyday life and come to us free of admission. They might look like a deep soul-talk with a friend, enjoying the juicy taste of a fresh cantelope, sharing a belly laugh with family member or enjoying God as he paints a sunset at the end your tiresome day.
One author expressed a key truth when he confessed, "Contentment is not having all you want. Contentment is wanting all that you have." As we move from saturation back to simplicity, we'll discover that we already have all we need and find deeper contentment and abundance in our lives. For many the thought of living more simply equates to living with less. And, in one sense, that's true. Sure, simplicity means less stuff jammed into your life. But within simplicity we also discover a great Biblical paradox that less is more.
Lord, in these next few months of summer let me release saturation and embrace the simplicity of a child. In that simplicity, allow me to see your world afresh by loving deeper and living richer. Help me to truly want those precious gifts that you have already given to me. Teach me to lean into all that I have at my disposal. And, guard my heart from the lie that I need more to be content. As I inhale the practice of simplicity this summer, may I exhale a heart of abundant gratitude. Amen.
We arrived Friday night at my in-laws house in Minneapolis around twilight. During the last hour of daylight Jackson and I decided to explore a small playground down the road from the house. As we made castles in the sand, discovered ant hills together and played on an old swing I couldn't help but think how much more fun tomorrow would hold at the amusement park. As we headed in for the evening, hand in hand, I remember thinking, "If you thought this night was fun buddy, just wait till tomorrow. You'll be in heaven."
Hell might have been a closer metaphor. All those rides. All that junk food. All those people. And to top it all off a three-story statue of snoopy. None of it seemed to satisfy my son that day. Over-stimulation. Over-saturation. Over-kill. And he was overcome. So was I!
As I carried my tear-filled, snotty-nosed, fatigued son through the mall towards the car that day I thought about the simplicity of the playground the night prior. How much more fun we had playing in the sand than conquering lego-land. On the drive home, I thought a lot about MORE and LESS and how they relate to our contentment as people.
Then it occurred to me. It's simplicity, not saturation that's the gateway to gratitude.
Whether kids or adults, we get duped into this lie that the more we have the more content and more grateful we will be. Actually, just the opposite is true. It's in simplicity that we become more grateful. Often when we have less, we learn to appreciate and to be content with the Father's gifts. Simplicity, not saturation is the gateway to gratitude.
During this summer season, I encourage you to be done with the saturated life of MORE. Stop attempting to quench your thirst by drinking out of a fire hydrant! Look for fresh splashes of the clean and refreshing water of God's gifts. And, those droplets of living water are usually organic and ordinary, appear in the mundane aspects of everyday life and come to us free of admission. They might look like a deep soul-talk with a friend, enjoying the juicy taste of a fresh cantelope, sharing a belly laugh with family member or enjoying God as he paints a sunset at the end your tiresome day.
One author expressed a key truth when he confessed, "Contentment is not having all you want. Contentment is wanting all that you have." As we move from saturation back to simplicity, we'll discover that we already have all we need and find deeper contentment and abundance in our lives. For many the thought of living more simply equates to living with less. And, in one sense, that's true. Sure, simplicity means less stuff jammed into your life. But within simplicity we also discover a great Biblical paradox that less is more.
Lord, in these next few months of summer let me release saturation and embrace the simplicity of a child. In that simplicity, allow me to see your world afresh by loving deeper and living richer. Help me to truly want those precious gifts that you have already given to me. Teach me to lean into all that I have at my disposal. And, guard my heart from the lie that I need more to be content. As I inhale the practice of simplicity this summer, may I exhale a heart of abundant gratitude. Amen.
2 comments:
YES YES YES!! My thoughts exactly!
Every May for a few years I've been giving my sunday school kids a summer to-do list...things like catch fireflies, watch ants, lay in the grass and look at clouds etc....I don't know if anyone does it but it doesn't hurt to make suggestions!
We stopped by Camp Snoopy a few years ago (my first and last visit to Mall of America) and I pretty much wanted to leave immediately.
Naomi, don't give up on your to-do list! Our children need to reminded of such things. In fact, many of them will have to remind their parents that these simple things are "legitimate" and worth doing! It's our kids that help to remind us that bigger is not always better and that sometimes less is more.
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