We live at the beach, but neither of my kids really like going to the beach. I am often disappointed in their lack of interest in spending time in the sand. I wonder if this is how God feels when He gives us an awesome job, the perfect mate, a nice house, or other amazing gifts, but we don't fully enjoy or appreciate them.
I have told my kids for years that most kids would be jealous of them for living in such an awesome place. We live where most people come for a week or two a year to escape from the stress of their everyday lives. We are here every day. I don’t think my kids fully understood what I was trying to get across to them.
One day at local fast food restaurant a small boy proudly told my daughter that he was from Texas. He asked her where she was from. My daughter told him here. The little boy couldn’t believe it. He told her nobody was from here. She finally managed to convince him that she was in fact from here. The little boy said that it was awesome and ran off to tell his mother. I believe the incident caused my daughter to better appreciate living here for at least a day or two. I also realized the little boy could have thought she was talking about living at the fast food place not at the beach.
She still does not like going to the beach.
Another way to appreciate something is to lose it. That's a post for another day.
