Enthusiasm
Posted by Esther Stewart on Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Watching "Australia's Funniest Home Videos" one night there was a clip of a girl about 12 years old being given a birthday present. Without even opening it she began to leap around the room, delighted at the prospect of what it might contain. She was leaping so wildly that she lost her balance and crashed into the wall, bounced off that and nearly knocked herself out on the TV cabinet. I didn't laugh. I thought "serves her right."
Where did THAT come from?
"For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete." Deuteronomy 16:15.
It has become uncool to be enthusiastic about anything, and I know why. Disappointment sucks. To look forward to something is to open yourself up for disappointment. I think it's something we learn pretty quickly. Sometimes our parents teach us, "don't get your hopes up". They don't want us to be disappointed. They know how much it hurts. But like all forms of self-protection, we avoid the hurt but are also robbed of the blessing.
My children are experts in anticipation, enthusiasm, joy. My husband took our son on his first boys' camping trip this weekend. The grin on that little boy's face as he climbed into the 4WD with Dad was priceless. He didn't know where they were going. There were no other kids there. We could hear the first rumblings of an electrical storm in the distance and feel the first drops of rain. But that didn't matter. He was going out with Dad, and he knew it would be great.
As they drove off I turned to my girls, and announced that we would have a pajama party. My youngest, who had been sulking at being left out of camping, leapt up and down clapping her hands. "That's WAY better than camping!" she yelled. I am sorry to say that her older sister and I watched this display with amusement. I silently hoped I had arranged enough fun for her - that she wouldn't be disappointed...
Oh Lord I am sorry for cultivating coolness. I would like to have the courage and the faith to look forward to every moment with You. For the Lord my God will bless me in my harvest and in all the work of my hands, and He will complete my joy. Help me to begin with joy, based on faith in Your love, so You can complete it for me. Thank you for your promise that this will occur. That You will complete our joy. Amen.
Where did THAT come from?
"For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete." Deuteronomy 16:15.
It has become uncool to be enthusiastic about anything, and I know why. Disappointment sucks. To look forward to something is to open yourself up for disappointment. I think it's something we learn pretty quickly. Sometimes our parents teach us, "don't get your hopes up". They don't want us to be disappointed. They know how much it hurts. But like all forms of self-protection, we avoid the hurt but are also robbed of the blessing.
My children are experts in anticipation, enthusiasm, joy. My husband took our son on his first boys' camping trip this weekend. The grin on that little boy's face as he climbed into the 4WD with Dad was priceless. He didn't know where they were going. There were no other kids there. We could hear the first rumblings of an electrical storm in the distance and feel the first drops of rain. But that didn't matter. He was going out with Dad, and he knew it would be great.
As they drove off I turned to my girls, and announced that we would have a pajama party. My youngest, who had been sulking at being left out of camping, leapt up and down clapping her hands. "That's WAY better than camping!" she yelled. I am sorry to say that her older sister and I watched this display with amusement. I silently hoped I had arranged enough fun for her - that she wouldn't be disappointed...
Oh Lord I am sorry for cultivating coolness. I would like to have the courage and the faith to look forward to every moment with You. For the Lord my God will bless me in my harvest and in all the work of my hands, and He will complete my joy. Help me to begin with joy, based on faith in Your love, so You can complete it for me. Thank you for your promise that this will occur. That You will complete our joy. Amen.
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