I just returned from a wonderful trip to Universal Studios Hollywood to celebrate my oldest daughter turning 10. We figured double digits was a big deal, so we posed a question: would you rather have a big party or go to Harry Potter World at Universal? I thought there would be some consideration, but there wasn’t. She picked Harry Potter World right away.
I’m not going to lie…looking at my credit card bill, this was not a “small” celebration. But hang with me as I work through this a bit.
I have been conditioned by whatever powers that be to think that a lot is good and more is better. I rarely think about the quality of things and find myself primarily concerned with the quantity of things. Take my diet for example, I know full well that high quality food less often actually makes me feel better. BUT, I struggle constantly with wanting to have all the things all the time, even when I’m not hungry. It has nothing to do with hunger, it has to do with gathering stuff to me. So, I was kind of put on my heels when my daughter chose to go on a trip with just the four of us. She wasn’t going to get all of her friends celebrating her, she wasn’t going to have everyone focused on her singing happy birthday. She was going to get four days of of dedicated time with her family doing something that we all love.
One thing that I used to do with my kids when they were little was ask them what their favorite part of the activity was. My goal was to get them to remember the good things and commit them to memory. My oldest daughter has taken that over and asks us all at the end of each day on our vacations and then again when we are laying in bed at night. She really enjoyed the fact that there were not a ton of people there. She loved getting one on one time, which is rare these days. She liked having high quality time with her family.
The wonderful thing is, she doesn’t need us to spend all that money driving to California for her to feel that way. She feels that way when we go to muddy creek, or to a show, or play board games. This whole experience has been a huge reminder that life is not about the stuff we gather to ourselves. It is about the deep meaningful moments we share with people. Christ said, where two or more are gathered, there I will be. We experience Christ in those moments. We should seek more of those and less stuff.
Leave a Reply