Many of you know that I have been working to put together a DVD of our Florida vacation from 2008. I finally finished it last weekend, and in the process I also came across the video footage from our “amusing” summer in 2007, which had never been burned to DVD. I decided it was a good time to take care of that, too…
And a funny thing happened (as it so often does)…
I have to honestly admit that I have not watched the 2007 DVD all the way through. I just happened to click on random video files here and there to make sure I had it all set up for burning… But as I did, a strange feeling came over me, and as I smiled at frame after frame I actually thought to myself, “I think that was the best summer of my life!”
Ahem…
Let’s take a little trip back to 2007, shall we?
I am rather certain that Phil thought I had gone stark raving mad when I looked at him and announced that I had just purchased season passes for Cedar Point and it’s affiliated amusement parks… and water parks (no small purchase for our family)! We currently had a five month old baby and were living in a paper mache’, government subsidized house on little to no income, depending on what was available at the time.
Further, we were basically disconnected from almost every friend we’d ever had, and we were completely without a group of Christ followers with which to spend time, worship corporately, etc. (You can read this, “We didn’t have a church” if you want to, but I have some strong feelings about the word church and how it’s used, so I’m not going to write it that way)…
By anyone’s outside assessment of our life, we were pathetic, and we had absolutely no business spending money (or plastic… or whatever) or having any kind of fun at all. And most of the time, we thought that, too…
But at some point I just snapped… clicked the “purchase now” button… and we were on our way to a summertime adventure that took us to the land of amusement many, many times… mostly on Sunday mornings…
Irresponsible? Yeah, maybe (and I’m not in any way encouraging anyone to spend money they don’t have, because heaven knows it isn’t a good plan to go into debt). But we were living in a very unique life experience, and I don’t regret what I did…. at all…
In reality, it was probably one of the worst times in our lives! And for the most part, I wouldn’t go back and do it all over again, because I know there was a great amount of stress and frustration involved.
But I learned a lot about life and living over the course of that summer, and even though I wouldn’t necessarily want to repeat it; I wouldn’t trade it for the world, either.
Many of you also know that I have written a book. It is not published… probably never will be… and I am seriously considering just releasing it one chapter at a time on this blog in the near future. The book is the prequel to the adventures of the summer of ’07. At some point, I fully intend to write about the full scope of what happened next.
But for now… let it suffice to say that sometimes it’s worth it to live on eggs, cheese, milk, and peanut butter in a house that you can vacuum completely from one outlet plug, without a clue as to where the next month’s rent is coming from… if… it also means that you can watch Hogan’s Heroes every night, make seasoned roller coaster riders out of your kids, create memories that last forever and bring a smile to your face, and are (most importantly) just exactly where God has paced you for that time in your life.
Now, 2 ½ years later, I find myself amazingly blessed with a house that is quite close to the house of my dreams (even though I am constantly thinking about how we could build an addition), and a stable job in ministry for my husband (even though I often miss him, because he puts so much into his work), and friends and classes and a real community for my kids (even though I sometimes complain about how busy we are and how exhausted I am). You would think that I would look back on the summer of ’07 and say something to myself like, “Gosh… that was awful! Look at where we are now!” But I don’t, because I have learned that the very best place to be… the only place to be… is where God wants you to be. And it doesn’t really matter what you have or what you don’t, as long as you’re there…
A good friend of mine recently made a status update to facebook that said, “If I'm not content with what I have...I will never be content with MORE...” What is there to add to that?
Philippians 4:11-13 says, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (NIV)
May we be content wherever God leads… And may we always be able to look back without regrets…
Our Family... Summer '07
Lisa
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