If your family is anything like ours, we are eagerly awaiting the summer months ahead. From looking forward to working outside in the garden to building excitement for our family vacation, it is hard to not feel like we want to jump ahead a month or so. A lot can change in a month though and to simply jump ahead would bypass all of the opportunities for joy in this waiting period.
In the next month, we will see our children grow more, especially our youngest. She is picking up pace on walking and I imagine running may start to happen in the coming month. Our oldest will also get to experience his first Vacation Bible School and I know how excited that will make him! Of course, being on vacation now would be great, but we would miss these moments of joy if we skipped ahead.
My husband and I recently discussed the idea of destination addiction. This concept is the idea that we are always chasing the next thing that will make us happy instead of finding joy in the present. Living life with the mentality of “I will be happy when ______” is an easy trap that anyone can fall into, especially with young children.
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Of course, in some ways, things will be easier when our children are older, but we need to remember that there is still great joy in this time as well. The pain of teething brings the joy of seeing a bright smile. The frustration of potty training brings the excitement of newfound independence.
In a similar way, we can fall into this trap with our faith too. We can come up with all sorts of excuses for why we can’t work on our relationship with Jesus right now, putting it off for a more ideal time of life. I’ll pray more when life slows down. I’ll get serious about faith when the kids are older. I’ll volunteer when work is less busy. I’ll focus on holiness when I feel more put together. But Jesus is never asking us for perfection, he is asking for our hearts now.
Seeking happiness or for things to be “better” in life is not the inherent problem though. The problem lies in thinking that we can only find happiness when we reach whatever goal, deadline, or scenario that we’ve set up for ourselves. In John 10:10, Jesus tells us that “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
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When we know that true happiness can be rooted in Christ and that our experiences in this world do not have to define our happiness, there is a true freedom that can be felt. This helps us to recognize that everything in this world is temporary. The baby will stop teething. The toddler will learn to go to the bathroom on his own. It goes beyond our experiences as parents though too. It becomes a part of everything we do. We find a joy that can’t be quelled.
This doesn’t mean that things are suddenly easier. But with Christ, joy becomes the foundation of our lives instead of worldly happiness becoming the goal we are constantly striving to reach.
When I think about the different challenges that we’ve had with our children, knowing that Christ has been there in all of it, makes me smile. He sees me and my struggles. He sees my frustrations and my faults. But he asks for only me and my heart.
I imagine there will be times we all struggle with destination addiction. Perhaps the key to it though is knowing where our hearts actually want to go. We have been made in God’s own image and likeness so we long for him, whether we recognize it or not. Being with him is the “destination” but the best part is that we don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to encounter him. Christ is here with us now in the ordinary. In the struggles. In the joys. In everything.
It can be tempting to want to rush ahead. I’d love for our vacation to start tomorrow, but there is a lot to look forward to still in the now and I don’t want to miss what God has planned for right now.