You see, waaaay back before the earth's surface had cooled, our oldest children attended Aldert Root Elementary school. Back in those days we had a couple of children at Root and one at White Memorial Preschool--those were some fine, fine days--even if I was in an exhausted haze half the time.
Before we'd learned we were having our fourth child, we had promised the children we would get one of the William's lab puppies. We'd never had a dog or pet of any kind so this was big doings...that is, until we received the happy news that God was sending us another baby.
So, we served the children their favorite dinner (to grease the skids, so to speak) and then, when everyone was in a happy mood, asked them if they'd rather have a puppy or a new baby. Thank goodness, the answer was "New baby!" Thus, no puppy...or cat...or pet, but we all sure did enjoy Preyer from the moment he came into our world.
Fast forward several years later and still no puppy or cat or even gerbil, for that matter. Life, however, seemed to be rocking along pretty nicely despite the absence of any canine or feline companions...
Until the night we went to parents' night at Aldert Root. My husband and I enjoyed going to the classrooms, meeting the teachers and other parents, and examining all the artwork. Well, that is until we read the cute essays all the children had written about their favorite pet.
Our son, Richard, who was in about second grade at the time, had written a sweet little story about his...wait for it...his beloved pet sea monkeys.
Surely you know what I'm talking about. Remember those sea monkey kits you could buy at Stuckey's along the highway? You'd add the tiny packet of dried sea monkeys to the water and the special sea monkey food...wait a few days...and viola, pet sea monkeys. Yes, they are supposedly microscopic shrimp or something like that. And yes, you really can't see them. You simply "see" some sort of dust-like substance that seems to cloud the water and that occasionally seems to possibly, maybe, perhaps, move a little bit. Yeah right.
The children would shout excitedly, "I think I saw them! Was that them, Mama? I really think I saw one!"
And you respond enthusiastically, "Absolutely! There they are! How about that?!" (All the while thinking guiltily about your own childhood when you grew up with dogs, cats, canaries and a couple of gerbils. And our children are growing up with imaginary rehydrated miniature shrimp. Parenthood can be one guilt trip after another.)
So back to parents' night. There were lots of precious stories about loyal old dogs. playful cats, and cute bunnies and guinea pigs. But trust me, there was one--and only one--story about "My Pet Sea Monkeys." Talk about humiliation. My poor, dear son wrote about how sweet his sea monkeys were and how much fun they were. Oh my stars--this was beyond pathetic. I figured we might as well go ahead and book the intensive therapy-due-to-pet-deprivation that each of our children would need.
And then, praise God, many, many years down the road, we finally got a real pet--our sweet old black lab, Moses. He was a special delivery by the Bunns on Christmas morning. We adopted him from another family that could no longer keep him when he was five years old. I don't care how many Christmases I'm alive, there will never, ever be a sweeter, more joyful Christmas morning than that rainy, but oh so happy, one.
Richard and I were so excited about the surprise, we didn't sleep a wink that Christmas Eve. When Moses arrived that Christmas morning, the children were beside themselves. They nearly walked Moses' legs off that day. In fact, his tail wagged so much his first day in our home that he hurt it and couldn't wag it for a day or two!
What a gift--
When Moses died (which nearly killed us), we grieved for months and months...but oh my we were so thankful God had given him to us. Then this past November, our second pet--sweet, energetic Mr. Bingley. A wee bit different when you get an eight week old puppy as opposed to a five year old...but so much fun! Another incredible gift that keeps on giving and giving--
Nope, sea monkeys pretty much do nothing but swirl around in some cloudy water.
And here's what I'm thinking--how often do we settle for something that is the pale, poor, imitation of the real joy, the real peace, the real love that God offers us in Jesus Christ? We run after the world's pitiful substitutes and miss out on the real deal--God's best...His presence, His power, His forgiveness, His grace, His fullness...Himself.
Here's how C.S. Lewis put it: "It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
Yes, how often have we settled for mud pies and sea monkeys...when God has so infinitely much more for us if we will but come to Him. As the song says "This world is empty, pale and poor, compared to knowing You, my Lord. Lead me on, and I will run after you."
Thank You, Lord Jesus. You are abundantly more than all we could ask or imagine, and nothing, nothing, nothing compares to the wonder and joy of knowing, loving, and following You. We join with Paul in saying, "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." (Phil.3:8)
You are the best of the best...keep reminding us, Lord, when we forget and start running after sea monkeys and mud pies. We love you, Lord.
To God be the glory.
So enjoyed reading this post, Emily.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rebekah! Hope it made you smile--we still laugh about it in our house. God makes all kinds of amazing creatures, doesn't He? What a Creator!
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