Rich People Problems

This past weekend my mom, youngest sister Birgitta, and her 4 month old baby, Emerald, came to visit us in Florida. We counted the days till they arrived. We had big plans—Autumn’s first birthday party, then a long beach weekend on the Palm Coast. We were all excited to play in the sun and water, especially my Michigan family. But our time together didn’t turn out the way we expected.

Two days before my family arrived, Micah’s ear started hurting. Then he started coughing. By the time we went to the airport, his eyes were red and yucky-looking and he was really coughing. He was even worse the next night during Autumn’s birthday party. And when we finally got to the beach condo the next day, all the kids were coughing and crying.

Adam and I spent each night there climbing in and out of bed, giving cuddles and medicine and back rubs to our sick kids. We thanked God each morning for cartoons and strong coffee. My mom and Birgitta were hard at work trying to shield little Emerald from all the germs. We tried to get outside some, but the weather was a bit chilly. We went to the pool and the beach a few times, but it was more work than fun.

The kids finally began to improve on Monday. The day my family flew home.

On Tuesday morning I sat out in the front yard while the kids laughed and played and rode their bikes. The sun beamed down on us. It was 80 degrees.

And in my mind, I threw a little tantrum.

My kids are usually so healthy. Why did they all have to get sick while my family was here? And why did the really hot weather arrive once they left?

I was having a really good mope about it all when something Pastor Andy Stanley preached recently popped into my head. He said that here in America we should preface most of our complaints with this statement: “I have a rich person problem.” According to Pastor Andy, in light of the fact that nearly half the people in our world live on less than $2 a day, anything related to a car, or a flight, or a vacation fits into the “rich person problem” category.

I suddenly saw our weekend differently. It’s never fun to be sick and it’s especially rough when your kids get sick. But what if my kids were seriously ill? And what if I had no access to a doctor or medicine or even a clean glass of water to give them? What if I never saw my family at all because traveling 1100 miles was an unthinkable luxury instead of a twice-a-year given?  And I’m not even going to address my complaint about the weather. You know, that 70-degrees-instead-of-80-degrees at the beautiful beach-side resort complaint.

2013 has been a happy year for us so far, I think mostly because of a decision Adam and I made at the end of last year to simplify our schedule and focus on basic things like gratitude and contentment. But I think my default is still to complain. In spite of all I’ve been given, it’s still easy for me to dwell on the negative.

But the Bible says that because of Jesus, I’m dead to sin and alive to God. Sin only has the power over me that I give it, and that means I can always choose to be thankful.

I got to spend six memorable days with some of my favorite people. We had good talks, good food, and a few laughs about the chaos. And I know that when we tell stories about this trip someday, we’ll laugh even more.

Adam and I talked about it all last night and went to bed feeling grateful and encouraged. Then a few hours later Sky came flying into our room and threw up all over the place. It’s been a messy day and I hope our sweet little girl gets better fast. In the meantime, I’m thankful she’s here on the couch next to me, cuddled up under a fresh blanket, with a clean glass of water nearby.