One beautiful evening about a month or so ago, I took my kids out to the back yard to play on the swing set. Fortunately, my kids love being outdoors, so I try to take them out as often as weather permits. Two of the neighbor kids joined us—Bubba, who’s sixteen, and his sister Heather, nine. Bubba had a tennis ball with him—I think he had brought it out to play with his dogs.
I don’t remember exactly how the game started. All I remember is that Bubba threw the ball, and my kids went running after it. Kenny was the most loudly enthusiastic, laughing his great cackle as he chased the ball and tried to find it. (It was green, so it blended in with the grass, especially since the grass needed to be mowed). Lindsey was running as fast as her little toddler legs could carry her. She wasn’t fast enough to have much chance of getting to the ball before Kenny, but that didn’t stop her. So there they both went. Kenny picked up the ball and brought it back to Bubba. Bubba threw it again, and they were off.
For about half an hour, Bubba or Heather would throw the ball, and Kenny and Lindsey (and sometimes Ellie) would chase it and bring it back. It was like a game of “fetch”, but with kids instead of dogs. In fact, they enjoyed the game so much, that I decided the next time I was at Wal-Mart, I would buy a canister of tennis balls so we could play ourselves.
So the next time I found myself at Wal-Mart, I made my way to the sporting goods section and found the tennis balls. There it was: a canister of summer fun for $1.82. There were three balls in the canister, and I could only imagine how much fun they would have with three balls at once. Who needs Disney World? We have tennis balls!
I bought the tennis balls and brought them home. Turns out playing “fetch” in the house is almost as much fun as playing outside, especially with three balls. Then a thought occurred to me, and I did the math: $1.82 divided by 3 equals a little more than $.60 per ball. Yep, these tennis balls fitted in with my idea that all the kids’ best toys cost a dollar or less.
Have you noticed that? Have you noticed how kids can enjoy a toy’s packaging more than the toy itself? How they can enjoy playing “fetch” outside as much as playing in a bounce house? Kids can make their own fun out of toys that cost less than a dollar, or that are free. They can have as much fun playing outside for free as they can going to Disney World.
I’m not saying that expensive toys or fancy vacations are bad. In fact, if I could actually ride any of the rides without getting sick, I would consider going to Disney World myself. What I am saying is that we should take a lesson from our kids.
You and I need to be able to have fun without having to spend our life’s savings on it. We should be able to be content with what God gives us without always having to have the biggest, fanciest, or most expensive item. Let’s take this a step further. Do we always have to have a flashy, exciting life, or can we be content with a simple life? Again, owning expensive things or taking nice vacations isn’t necessarily wrong. But if we experience a lack of contentment with what we can afford, or if we fail to enjoy the simple things because we’re always looking for something flashier, better, or more exciting, we have a problem.
When was the last time you stopped to look at a sunset? I don’t just mean for the three seconds it takes to say, “Look, kids, a pretty sunset.” I mean, stood there and really enjoyed it.
When was the last time you took some time to yourself to just do nothing—to be instead of do?
When was the last time that you had a blast with your kids doing something as simple as finger painting, or splashing in the bath, or running around outside?
I’d like to challenge you to do something. Spend some time in prayer today, or at least this week, and ask God if there are areas in which you need to simplify your life. He may direct you in any of a number of ways. Why will He do this? He wants to remove from our lives anything that gets in the way of enjoying Him and hearing His voice. Fancy, expensive, or complicated things are not necessarily bad. But preoccupation with them is. Ask God if there is anything that is stealing your focus from Him and His still, small voice. Then, be willing to release it to Him. You won’t be letting yourself in for a boring, empty life. You’ll be paving the way for life abundant.
1 Timothy 6:8—But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.