Grasping at Nothing

Recently, I took the kids to Walmart for some regular grocery shopping time. They know that if they are well behaved while in the store (no begging, running away, screaming, yelling or generally bad behavior) they will get to ride on the Mickey Mouse Car found near the exit. I am not even sure why this works because the thing barely moves and I make all 3 girls ride it together even though there's not room.

It is worth Fifty Cents to me but no more!  Call it a bribe, call it whatever you want...to me, it is called "a way to survive shopping with 4 kids that are five and under!"

I digress. On this particular day, the kids were well behaved and anticipating their ride. When we walked out of the store, Keira presented her own quarter that she had apparently snagged from her piggy bank at home and kept in her hand the whole time. She brought it to play the grab machine. You know it. The one that you pour money into and after about $10-$15, you finally get a stiff, cheap stuffed animal that likely doesn't resemble even a well know Disney character.

So, I calmly explained that this game was a losing game and that she would likely lose her money and walk away with nothing. Also, the game cost fifty cents and she only had a quarter.

She wanted to play anyways. I thought about it and gave her a quarter explaining that this was the only quarter she would get from me and she would see that it just isn't worth it.

She played. She lost. She asked for more quarters. I said no. She Begged.

 I still said no.

Okay, I thought. Now I have the opportunity to show her that I was right. I explained how she should have listened to me. I went through all that just happened. How she missed the"fun" ride with her sisters. How she wasted Fifty cents with nothing to show for it. I thought surely she would never ask to play again. Apparently I forgot what it was like to be five. Her next words.

"Next time, I will bring more quarters". Ugh.

How often do I do this to God? He clearly tells me that the choice I am making is a bad one. One with consequences. One that will make me miss out on something great. How devastating.

Just like a five year old and a grab machine, we somehow think that if we just keep trying to get what we want, we will eventually get it. Sometimes we even do. But at what cost?

Sometimes it takes trying to teach my five year old a lesson (unsuccessfully) to teach me a bigger one!

Let's stop grasping at nothing and grasp at God's Word. It will never leave us empty or unsatisfied!