Friday, May 24, 2013

When I Was a Kid...

(Featured in the May Issue of Surrender Magazine)

I never thought I'd be one of those “When I was a kid...” parents. You know, like when your parents used to say, “When I was a kid, I had to walk a mile to school in two feet of snow, uphill both ways...” etc. In my Dad’s case, he really did walk to school in the snow; several feet of snow at times. He grew up in the Midwest. But most people embellish a little bit to basically tell whoever it is they're talking to to stop whining because things were way harder "back in the day." Well, despite my thinking that I would never say, "When I was a kid..." to my own kids, alas, I found myself saying that just last week.

My girls kept asking me if they could have, let's just say, more electronic devices that they don’t need. They were telling me how so-and-so has this and so-and-so has that, so “Why can't I have one too? It's just not fair!" That was when I heard these words come out of my mouth..."When I was a kid, we didn't have iPhones, iPads, 3DS's, Wii's, Xbox's, Androids, email, etc., etc. Heck, I had to change the channel on my five channel TV by getting up and walking over to it to turn the knob! No remotes!" "No remotes?!" they gasped. "And what happened if you had to call someone while you were driving?” I told them that it was your tough luck if you didn’t make your call before you left home. “What if your car broke down?” they asked. I explained that if your car broke down, you either hoofed it for who knows how many miles until you found a gas station with a pay phone, or you stood next to your car and held your thumb out until someone pulled over and offered you a ride." "You got in a car with a STRANGER!?" they asked, horrified. “Well, I never did. My Mom taught me never to do that. But, that’s what other people did.” “Well, what if you got lost and couldn’t find where you were going?” they asked. “Well, we used a map that had all the roads and freeways on it.” I said. They looked at me with blank expressions and then my 8 year old said, “Well, you could have just Googled it.” That’s when I knew that no matter how much I told them about “when I was a kid…” they weren’t going to be able to really understand what I was talking about.  I said, “My point is that you don’t NEED all of these things you’re asking me for. You are 8 and 6! Why do you need your own cell phones and iPads? You have plenty of toys sitting right in your playroom. Go play with those and use your imaginations!”

I guess it’s only natural for kids these days (and adults for that matter) to be infatuated with technology. It’s all around them and is encouraged at school, as it should be in my opinion. The future of technology is going to be incredible and they need to know how to use it. I don’t want to keep my kids in the dark ages and make them live without our modern conveniences, but I do want them to have a more simple childhood and learn to appreciate the value of working hard for something that they really want. Along with that, I want them to be creative and artistic. I want them to use their brains and figure things out by themselves, not just by “Google-ing” it. I want them to play outside and get dirty and exercise their bodies. I want them to study nature and lie on their backs in the grass and try to make shapes out of the puffy, white clouds. I want them to listen to and appreciate music and sing and dance along. I want them to learn how to play instruments. I want them to develop a relationship with each other as sisters by talking to each other and playing games together, not just by connecting on their 3DS’s. Is that too much to want for? I don’t think so.

Sometimes I feel like life is overtaking us. Everything moves so fast! It seems like yesterday I was recording songs from the radio onto cassette tapes and getting super upset with the radio host if they kept talking through the song’s intro right up until the song started. Or, if they started talking before the song ended. Does anyone else remember doing that? I remember putting pieces of foil on my TV’s rabbit ears so I could watch my favorite show with a little less “snow” on the screen. (You should have heard me trying to explain to my girls what the rabbit ears were on my TV…) Anyway, life was so much slower then. You actually had to be home to watch the TV show you wanted. Then when VCR’s came along, you had to be home to push the record button so you could leave and watch the show later. Then, when you got home, you had to wait while the tape rewound itself to the beginning. And you were cool with waiting because you didn’t have a choice, and you didn’t know anything different.

I think that’s part of the problem now. We really don’t have to wait for much of anything anymore. Most everything is convenient and quick. I wonder if that’s why it’s so hard to wait on the Lord sometimes. We ask God for what we want and we expect quick results. We say to God, “But, God! So-and-so has this and so-in-so has that and why can’t I have it too? It’s just not fair!” God is pretty clear in his Word about not wanting what other people have. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” Exodus 20:17. This doesn’t just apply to material things. We can want someone else’s ministry, someone else’s talents, someone else’s healing, someone else’s family, spouse, job... As much as God loves us and wants us to be blessed and happy, he knows what will truly bless us and what isn’t necessary or good for us to have. He knows what we can be responsible with and what blessings he can trust us to handle well. He blesses us in his perfect timing, not in ours. We want, we wait a little bit, we want more, and we get impatient waiting. If we aren’t careful, we can become resentful towards God when we feel like he’s being unfair in not giving us what we want, or giving something we want to someone else who we feel is less deserving of it than we are. Please don’t fall into that trap, that mindset that you deserve something more than somebody else. You never know what someone had to go through before they received a particular blessing. 

God cares about what we want, but he’s most concerned with what we need. We ALL need a Savior. We all need God’s grace and mercy, and we are all undeserving of it. But he freely gives it to all who believe in him and call upon His Name. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:22-24. Trust that God knows what you want and he knows what you need. Never be afraid to ask God for anything! But trust him to answer you in his way, in his time. Be thankful always. Be grateful to God always, and you will never want for anything.