How Much More...

So this last weekend I was treated to a day out of the ordinary...

My cousin Cody had his 12th birthday earlier last week (actually, the same day as my niece Jill). So my Aunt Teresa and Uncle Earl had planned on bringing Cody and two of his buddies up here to Cincinnati for the weekend and taking the boys to King's Island for the day on Saturday. Since I live about a mile away from King's Island, they had asked me to join them. So I was really looking forward to seeing everyone and spending a day at King's Island with them.

And then the rains came...

And then the rains came some more...

So when Teresa and Earl pulled up to my house Saturday morning, we came in and turned on the weather radar on the TV and realized that it was likely to continue raining most of the day. Not ideal weather for being outdoors all day.

So we decided to postpone the King's Island trip until maybe later this summer. There should be plenty of other chances. Instead, Teresa suggested going to Sports Plus, which is an indoor facility in Sharonville. They have ice rinks, basketball courts, indoor mini-golf, laser tag, a rock climbing wall, arcade, etc. So Teresa figured the boys could find plenty to do there.

And boy was she right!

They got the boys unlimited games for the day and they went to town! First the laser tag, then indoor mini-golf, then the arcade. And even trampoline basketball! I joined in on a few events, including laser tag (I am absolutely horrible by the way), mini-golf, ice skating, and some arcade games. But the trampoline basketball looked a little outside of my age range, so I was content just to watch Cody and his buddies bounce around in there for awhile.

We took a break for lunch and split 3 medium pizzas. Then we went back to it for the rest of the afternoon. But the boys had a great time. And I did too.

It was strange for me because I never get to interact with kids of that age. If you think about it, I mostly interact with adults at work and at church. The most interaction I get with kids is when I see my nieces and nephew (all under 3 1/2 years). So getting to hang out with some 12-year olds was a pretty cool experience. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, but they really surprised me in many ways. Sometimes, we forget how much kids really know and understand since most of us really don't remember what it was like to be that age. And it was just really fun to spend time with them and to get a glimpse into their world, even if for a day.

And aside from a few typical episodes you would expect from 12-year old boys, they were generally well-behaved and just fun to play with. I was really surprised by how well the boys were able to adapt to the change in plans as well. When the original plan of King's Island fell through, we didn't miss a beat in going to Sports Plus instead. In fact, I might even say that we had more fun there than we would have had at King's Island. So you just never know...

But as the day went on, I was constantly reminded of Christ's words in Matthew 7:11

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Obviously, Teresa and Earl wanted to give their son a good gift for his birthday. And even when their "Plan A" didn't pan out, they were able to come up with a fantastic "Plan B" to treat Cody to a fun birthday with his pals. And even though there were a few moments of frustration that all 12-year olds typically bring, you could just really see the desire in my aunt and uncle to give a good and perfect gift to Cody.

Often times, I think about the good gifts that The Lord has in store for me and I think about how He longs to bring those gifts to me. But at the same time, I realize that I am not ready to receive some things quite yet. And other times, the gifts that I think I want or deserve are much like our intended King's Island trip... something that seems good and right to me may get canceled, but it will end up being replaced with something even better, something that God has planned specifically and uniquely for me.

Observing my aunt and uncle and their sincere longing to give good gifts to their own son just really blessed me because it reminded me of my own relationship with my Heavenly Father. How much more does my Father have in store for me? I can't wait to find out!