My wife and I were at a Christian concert this past weekend. The house was packed. The church had spent the day celebrating our freedoms as Christians and as Americans. The day ended with a spectacular fireworks show. We enjoyed the evening.
During a break in the music while the singer was talking for a few minutes, a small boy was talking to his mother, loud enough where those of us a couple of rows back could hear him. He asked, “Momma, when this is over are we gonna get to see the fireworks?” Mom was trying to get him to talk a little quieter but it wasn’t working. He couldn’t have cared less about the singer on stage, he was there for the fireworks.
I think most of us are waiting for the fireworks. We’re wanting for whatever it is we are going through to hurry up and be over so the fireworks can begin. We’re thinking, “When this is over… when we get through this…when I have more time…when the kids are older…when I can finally retire…when we have more money…..” You get the idea.
Could it be I am experiencing the fireworks right now and done’t even realize it? I’ve been married to a beautiful lady for twenty five years this coming September. I have the blond-haired-blue-eyed daughter I prayed for. She’ll be twenty this August. I am the proud father of a curley-haired-brown-eyed boy who is all a dad could ask for. He’ll be sixteen in August. I still have my father. He turned eighty-three this spring. And I am blessed with a sister who is one of the best people I know. I have more friends than I can count. I get to travel all over the country preaching in a different church each week. I’m not wealthy, but I’m comfortable. My car isn’t new, but it’s nice. My home isn’t a mansion, but it’s the one place I long for when I’m away.
God help me to not wait for the fireworks. This is it. I am in the midst of the best life a man could ask for. I have peace of mind and peace with God. If it all ends today, I am richer than a millionaire. Rich in blessings. Rich in all that my mother dad invested in me. Rich in family values. Rich as an American and rich as a Christian.
I have a friend who told me he used to complain all the time about toys left on the floor…Until he spent a year with his daughter in and out of Children’s Hospital. He told me, after that, he’d never complain again about toys on the floor. ….Friends, enjoy what you have. It could all be gone tomorrow. Don’t wait on the fireworks. M
