I feel like our annual trip to the county fair is full of No’s.
Even when there have been so many YES’s, the negatives seem to outweigh the positives in a little girl’s mind. {I mean we did say YES to the parking fee, to the admission price, to the strawberry shakes and the burgers, and we did say YES to the $1 extra admission to see “The Most Giant Horse In The World.”}
No, Hope. You can’t take a pony ride. You ride real HORSES every week.
No, girls, you cannot go on another ride. You’ve used up all of your tickets.
And NO, you may not have a souvenir.
They both played with inflatable purple unicorns attached to leashes next to the exit from the petting zoo. Enthusiastic, even at the end of a long afternoon, they both could envision themselves “walking” these air-filled prizes back to the car.
“Your TRIP here to the fair was your souvenir,” my husband told them. “Maybe we can all say THANK YOU for that.”
“Thank you,” they grumbled. And that was the end of it. Reluctantly they put the purple unicorns back in their places on the $20 rack.
We each grabbed a little hand and weaved our way back to the car through the masses of people carrying funnel cakes and fried pickles. When we got to the parking lot, Hope looked at her father.
“Thanks, Dad. I know what you mean by us just being here being my souvenir. I had fun.”
She’s growing up. Because last year she wouldn’t have said that. The difference between seven-years-old and eight-years-old, it seems, is being able to recognize that her parents had just shelled out fistful after fistful of cash for rides and food and that a purple inflatable unicorn was just not in the budget.
She recognized that the whole day was the souvenir.
That’s maturity: knowing that the journey is the prize.
I hope that at the end of my life, or even at the end of the day, I don’t keep asking for more and more. I hope that I will be able to say Thanks, Dad for making the journey the prize. For the pain and the grief, and the joy and the ease, for helping me see that the changing of my heart is my reward for walking with You.
I want to be grateful for the journey, with a good attitude and a happy heart, and live humbled that He’s chosen me to walk it with Him.
Are you thankful for the journey?
Oh so thankful! Unequivably! Incredible post! What a super great family! In every way.
thanks, carol. =)
I tend to be more like the seven year old but your post did help me recognize that – I need to stop asking for more and more and just be grateful for what I have already been given! You do have a wonderful family life, Sarah.
me too!!
This gives me hope for my (little bit younger than your) kids. *Whew.*
oh yeah, it does get a little better. my oldest has really matured a lot this year. it’s been great.
Sarah,
Like Kathleen admitted, I must do the same. Sometimes that seven year old comes alive in me. Thank you for reminding me to breathe and take a look at it all; family, life, health – must I go on? When I take a moment to step back and look at my life and the many prizes He’s blessed me w/all I can do is be thankful for the journey I’ve been on and my continued path.
absolutely. just this afternoon the girls and i had a thankfulness adjustment. i made them each tell me five good things about their life. after that, we had a better afternoon. =)
I am learning that although it does feel like i never get the sovernior in life, i am learning of the joy i do have. So yes I am so thankful xx
me too, sara. =)
I don’t know. That purple unicorn sounded pretty cool
i will tell them you are bringing a few unicorns from nashville for them in a couple weeks. =)
First off, *love* the pictures! Especially the slide one, it looks so…retro.
And my friend and I were talking at dinner last night how we’re thankful for the journey…even the hard parts (we were talking about some mistakes in our past that satan was trying to bring back up and somehow, someway, God is going to use those for good. He’ll use our hurts, our mistakes, to teach us something (not that He hasn’t already, but you know what I mean) or give someone else encouragement when they’re going through it, or show someone what NOT to do. I think He’ll eventually bring us full circle.
Maybe that makes sense.
it does make sense. and thanks about the pix. i try. i’m not that good, but i take LOTS of them and only use what I like .=)
More often than not I am asking for more. I want my husband to be more like this and my son to be more like that. I wish my friend was more this and my boss was more like that. These are my thoughts all to often. When I should just be appreciating what God gave me, I am wishing for more. Oh, Lord I am thankful for the journey, help me to see what is right in front of me.
Great post Sarah!
thanks jimmie lee!
LOVE this post! And boy did it hit home with me!
I am so often restless…ususally looking {and hoping} for more instead of being fully present in the moment and recognizing {and appreciating} all that God has for me right in front of me!
I needed this reminder today
Thanks!
Amy
p.s. will you be at She Speaks???
I wish. I can’t this year.
beautiful.
hit home with me too.
i find myself being grateful for the journey, with all it’s unknowns and uncertainties. i find myself okay with the middle. finding grace in the middle…instead of always waiting to finally arrive. maybe it’s not about arriving (yet, until that glorious day) but about the journey.
Beautiful post. What a precious gift for our Father to offer Him a heart of gratitude and contentment. A changed heart really is the best reward.
i agree. thank you dianne.
Yes, I am. I know I’m learning each day and God has a purpose. But..I will be even more thankful when this particular journey I’m on is drawing to a close. I’m anxious to be done, but even more anxious to shout out praises to God.
I will be praying for you tonight as you continue to struggle in your current journey.
I AM thankful for the journey! Learning to be more thankful day by day as one of the biggest lessons God is teaching me and my husband is contentment.
I wanna be like Paul when he says, “I have learned the secret of being content. I know how to live with little and how to live with much.”
This was a great post! Thanks for sharing a bit of your time with your family with us!
Heidi I love that, your quote from Paul. Can you tell me chapter and verse so I can look it up? Thanks!
Hi Kathleen! The verse is Philippians 4:11-12
It’s an awesome verse….one I want to live by; it’s a lesson I have to keep learning over and over!
ps….I thought i would add that I didn’t quote the verse exactly – i just paraphrased it when i wrote that comment
kathleen and heidi – i LOVE that verse. i love it. thanks for reminding me where it was. =)
Not as thankful as I should be, I’m afraid.
yes, i’m there (in the not-as-thankful-as-i-should-be place) all the time. =(
Hi Sarah
LOVED this post sooo much. I prayed and thanked God for His constant presence and provision in my life.
Gods sweetest blessings to you!
Stephanie in New Holland Pennsylvania
thank you so much Stephanie!
thanks for the gentle & soft reminder sarah to be thankful!
you are welcome. =)
wooohooo…amen & amen…
you are SO right…
the prize…the journey…are one & the same…right along with our hearts as they grow thru that same journey…
love you,
dad
thanks dad. and thanks for carrying Naomi for awhile yesterday. =)
Ironically, it’s my 8 yo and not my 9yo that generally “gets it”
Today it was time to come home from the lake, and while the older girl was throwing a fit, the younger thanked me that they got to go at all.
It’s cool when they get it. I wish I got it more often too.
Thanks for the post! As always, it made me think (and that’s a good thing!)
i love the last line!
“For the pain and the grief, and the joy and the ease, for helping me see that the changing of my heart is my reward for walking with You.”
SO PROFOUND!!! thank you!
So beautifully convicting.
What a meaningful post. It’s wonderful to teach our children the importance of being thankful. It’s not always easy these days, but it’s worth it. It sounds like your girls will grow up to be thankful adults.
gosh sarah, you hit the nail on the head today. i wish my icky, sinful self could grasp that fact. i wish i had the child-like faith and child-like heart of hope.
i feel like oftentimes we do great having faith for the big pictures that God gives us. . .the happy endings. however, it is in the day by day journey that we lose the faith so quickly and so easily. i think that is why the Lord has to be in the details. . .because that is so often where we lose the faith. . .
((did you see justin davis’ post on calendar and character last week?? it was similar and quite convicting as well. . .))
I want my journey to be the take away too. I wish I was as mature as your eight year old sometimes, cause sometimes I’m not! Thank you so much for your beautiful way of reminding us of how much we already have, how much He’s already done! God bless you! deb
oh how i love those turning point moments…my older daughter will be 8 in a couple months and i have seen such a soothing maturity about her…i can remember driving home in a teary fierce argument with my husband months ago…through tears Bella laid it in us like MLK, Jr…no doubt filled with the holy spirit…God made marriage holy and it’s a covenant you make with each other and a covenant you make with God!….stopped.dead.in.our.tracks. God, He knows. She knew. We knew what we needed to hear that evening…
i thought i was the one supposed to be teaching my children???
Not sure if anyone else has said so in the comments, but here’s something I’ve been told quite a few times: It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.