Playing In The Mud

Wants.  Needs.  Must haves.  Are we living in a society that desires too much?  According to C.S. Lewis, we are actually living in a society that desires too little. Wow...too little?  I had never looked at it from that angle before. However, when I took in what he was saying, I could not help feeling as if I had just been pinched. His words were sharp and edged with a truth that I cannot even begin to divulge.  Our culture desires too little...hhmm.

In one of his stories, Lewis describes some children playing outside in the mud.  They are having a grand old time playing in mud puddles and not much else.  One day, their parents discuss plans to spend the holiday at the beach...but the children are not quite sure how to respond.

Now it seems a little silly to imagine any child pondering this offer.  Playing in the mud as opposed to a week at the beach seems absurd, as most of us have been to the beach and know its beauty.  There are sand dollars to collect, beautiful waves to ride, castles to build. Oh, the joys of the beach!  I cannot help but smile just thinking about it!  The sounds and the smells can be intoxicating and the feel of the sand between your toes is just heavenly.  Sunrises and sunsets, evening bonfires with waves crashing down around you.  I could go on and on...

So why were these children uncertain? The reason they were not jumping up and down with pure and utter excitement was this:  They failed to recognize that the beach would offer far more than anything experienced in those puddles.  They may have heard about the beach in passing but they had never experienced it for themselves.  They knew what to expect with their mud puddles...why mud pies of course!  But the beach?  This was new territory.  What would they do all day?

Like these children, are most of us playing in the mud?  Are we passing up a lifetime at the beach because we are scared or uncertain?  Does our society desire too little?  Could we be missing out on something far greater by failing to let Him in?

I used to be someone who desired too little from life.  Just like the children in the story, I did not know what I was missing and desired all the wrong things.  I could not comprehend the peace and serenity that would come from placing myself at God's feet.  Having experienced the beach, I now understand how absurd it was to spend all those years making mud pies.  On occasion, I do fall back into those muddy waters, but thankfully, I am quick to remember the feel of the glorious sand between my toes, and through God's grace, I quickly find my way back to the shore.