Just last week, with school being out and summer work schedules subsequently getting trickier, circumstances were such that I brought Brody and Bethany with me to Thursday evening Bible Study, which is held at the retirement community next door to the church. The kids sat like angels for the forty-five minutes we were there…well…Bethany actually fell asleep for some of it, but that’s beside the point (a real vote of confidence for her father).
At the conclusion of the study, many of the participants lauded the kids for their good behavior, oblivious to the fact that I threatened to read my rug rats the riot act if they were disruptive or unruly. Anyways, it must’ve worked because a member of the staff walked over to the kitchenette adjoining the activities room and offered each of them a creamsicle ice cream treat to take home with them.
Brody tore into his creamsicle before we ever got out of the facility. But Bethany was a bit more deliberate, deciding she’d hold onto hers for a little longer. As we made our way back to the church, down the hall, and inside my office to gather things up to go home, Bethany—in the most sing-songy, teasing kind of way—made sure her brother knew she had more left than he did. However, she didn’t factor in how hot it was outside, let alone how hot it’d be inside the car en route to the house. Unsurprisingly by the time we got home, Brody’s creamsicle was consumed and Bethany’s was just packaged cream with a stick inside.
Sensing tears were on the way, I assured her we could refreeze the treat and she could have it later; but I also remember saying, “Bethany, you shouldn’t have waited so long to enjoy it.”
Yet, in that moment, brief as it was, I felt convicted because daddy is guilty of doing the same thing. I’m not talking about melting ice cream, but squandering opportunities to savor simple but significant moments of life. Have you? Are you? What is it about our nature that so consistently perceives that the good life is somewhere other than where we are? Our Lord reminds us, “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow (Matt 6:34, MSG).
Let’s be clear: I’m not making biblical grounds to justify irresponsibility or impulsivity, nor am I castigating anyone whose sense of discipline causes them to delay gratification. But it shouldn’t rob us of the moment. Slow down, be present, and count your blessings. Give yourself permission to stop and smell the roses…or in the case of my daughter, stop and enjoy the Dream-sicle.
