Vacation 2008

I had the joy of going on vacation with my family a few weeks ago. We normally try to find a beach location...I love the beach! I can sit and soak in the sun while listening to my ipod for hours on end, interrupted only by cool dips in the ocean.

That was, of course, until we had a kid.

Last year, admittedly, wasn't as much fun. My son was about 9 months old at the time, didn't like the water or the sand, and slept alot. My wife said it wasn't really a vacation...it was a week-long relocation. I think I got more rest than her.

This year was completely different. Ethan woke us up at 7:30 am every morning. He wanted to come in about 10:30 for a nap, up for lunch, back at 6 for dinner, then to bed at 9. Kind of busy, huh?

Know something? I don't think I ever had so much fun on a vacation. The first day we were there, he was terrified of the water unless I was holding him. The longer we were in it, the more comfortable he got. He loved being thrown up in the air over and over and over again. We built sand castles together. We flew a kite together. Just a great time.

This trip reminded me of a few things. First, it reminded me of Luke 11:11-13:

If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

I think about my relationship with my son...if he asks me for something (granted, right now he asks for food, water, books, puppy and that's about it), I want to meet his need. Not only just meet it but provide the best I can for him. I started contrasting that with my own relationship with my Heavenly Father, Abba...Daddy...how I sometimes and probably many times expect Him to either not answer my prayer or possibly even pass along some chastisement that I undoubtedly deserve. I fear His hand.

Then I thought: "How would I feel if Ethan had this fear, this expectation of something bad or of nothing at all?" The answer resounds within me: I would be heartbroken. What I want more than anything is that Ethan realizes I love him and want what's best for him. Why then can I not know with every fiber of my being that God most likely feels exactly the same way with me?

The second thing I'm reminded of is an awesome quote from Chesterton:

A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough... It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again," to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again," to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.

How old am I? Yes, 32, but really? Personalizing that above, I have "sinned and grown old." I've been a believer now since age 8. 24 years. I'm just thinking how we underestimate the consequence of this fallen condition I'm in, how much joy I'm missing by this sin that is ever before me. Thank Christ for Grace! Thank Him that one day I will be able to fully know what it means. Spending the time with my son made me realize that I can exult in the fact that God's mercies are renewed every morning. That He is faithful and just to forgive my sins. That He never tires of me coming to Him, begging "do it again, Daddy."