Missing the Spectacular

Recently, our family watched fireworks on the beach at Disney.

Anyone who has been to Disney knows what an effort that can be. Not to mention, a miserably cold wind blew and beaches mean one thing--sand. I hate sand (Strength to Stand)!

We arrived over an hour early to claim our spot.

A six and four year old notice sand more quickly than a cat realizes that it is in water. We bought hot chocolate for the girls to sip while we waited for the firework show. They chugged it to make more time to play in the sand. Not only that, but since they didn't have sand buckets, they went all MacGyver and used their cups and the cup holder as makeshift tools. All they could really make was a little mountain of sand, but that was enough for them.

My wife and I thought once the fireworks started exploding they would stop moving sand around and watch in amazement and bewilderment. After all, that's why we were there for them to experience the spectacular.

However, the story didn't play out like that. It went more like this...

They continued to play in the sand. They missed the point of our adventure. They were missing the spectacular for the simple. Needless to say, it was all rather annoying. 

The moment hadn't lived up to our expectations--we had visions of our family cuddled up watching fireworks on the beach sipping hot chocolate enthralled in the Disney magic.

However, in the midst of our frustration and disappointment, our girls weren't experiencing the same feelings. They were having the time of their lives (apparently, a mixture of a hot chocolate high and sand will do that to you). While the moment wasn't living up to our expectations, it was exceeding theirs.

The bad thing was that I was the one who missed out. I was focusing on the wrong things. I didn't enjoy the fireworks or watching my girls be little because I let my frustration steal the moment.

That's the first lesson my daughters reminded me of this year. 

How often in life do you miss out because you were too busy focusing on the wrong thing?

Exploding fireworks is what you want, but instead you get sand. 

You expect the spectacular, but miss out on the simple things God uses to bring joy to your life every day.

God almost always uses the simple over the spectacular.

You're going to get more simple in life than spectacular; God uses those things to bring about more joy. Fireworks only last a little while, but sand is abundant.

Only dreaming of the spectacular ends with you disappointed and frustrated. Enjoying the simple brings joy and contentment. 

It's a new year. Quit waiting for only the spectacular to happen and focus more on the simple. 

Any advice on how to focus on the right things this year?