On Tuesday morning, the kids ran into our room and tried to wake us up. My wife and I would’ve already been up getting ready for work on a regular weekday but both of us knew that we had some extra time to sleep in due to the snow. When Reina and Ryan opened the blinds and saw the snow outside, they were jumping and shouting with excitement. Although it was a hectic morning due to the school closing situation not being announced early, the fact that it snowed made everything ok. There’s something about snow that makes everyone feel like a kid again. I really like that. However, I have grown to not like snow that much since living in the States. When I was growing up in Korea, I don’t remember anyone shoveling and getting into accidents. But now that I’m older and have been through a couple of snowstorms by spending many hours shoveling and being stuck at home for days, I don’t really look forward to snow days anymore. I can live without the “hype” of seeing snow, making snowmen and sledding down the hills. I’m actually more worried about people getting into accidents and small business owners losing business over bad weather. Maybe I need to rediscover my youthfulness and excitement all over again. Or maybe I’m just being too practical.
It’s been a couple days since it snowed and the kids are still in their “snow mode.” Whenever they see a pile of snow, they want to walk on it and touch the snow. While they are having so much fun, my wife and I are so worried about them slipping and getting the car wet or dirty. You get the picture, right? It happened again this morning at my parents’ house when I picked my kids up to take them to school. Ryan just blatantly disobeyed my instruction and ran around my parents’ front yard covered with snow. I had to carry him out of the snow and put him in the car. Ryan was so upset that I didn’t allow him to play in the snow, he kept on saying he doesn’t like daddy over and over. As I was driving, I thought about my actions and felt that I could’ve allowed Ryan to have some fun in the snow before getting in the car. He was just being a kid being excited but I was more worried about his clothes getting dirty and the car being wet. I don’t think what I did was wrong, any parent would have done the same but Ryan’s reaction made me think about it a little more.
Usually, I try not to spiritualize every matter, but God made me realize something very important through this incident. There are many of us who have lost the excitement or the youthfulness when it comes to our relationship with God. I’ll be the first one to admit that. Although we are not called to remain “immature” and “child-like” in our faith, the genuine joy of knowing Jesus Christ and worshipping Him are something we need to keep. Many times I use my so called “wisdom” to limit myself from stepping outside my own little comfort zone. It’s not a coincidence that Timothy Winter Retreat’s theme was “Let Go.” I think this year will be a year that God will challenge me and my family to let go of whatever fear we are holding onto so we can fully experience the true freedom we can enjoy in God!
From Pastor Brian’s Heart
January 11, 2015
4, 2015