This year’s 4th of July was so fun.

I just had to blog about it.

It reminded me of when I was a kid.

The year was 1980.

I was so excited for the Fourth to come around.

We were having a big family reunion.

I saw a bunch of people I loved but didn’t get to visit all the time.

Everyone cooked their best dishes. Then after dinner, we shot off fireworks!

When the fireworks were done, a bunch of us went to Wet Willy’s and rode the water slide until midnight. This was a lot of fun for me (I was only eight).

Do you remember Wet Willy’s?

These are the things a kid’s dreams are made of…

This year was a dream come true too!

My son, daughter, husband and I spent the entire day together. We had a great time just being together.

We enjoyed great food and fantastic fireworks. We laid on our backs and watched as they seemed to explode directly above our heads.

As I stared up into the sky and watched the fireworks explode, I thought… what was it (outside of the obvious good food connection) that caused caused these two Independence Day experiences to stick out in my mind and be memorable?

For me, I was remembering for all the right reasons.

You see, there was a time when I would look at the fireworks and think “Same fireworks, different year.” While everyone else enjoyed the celebration, I’d let an ungrateful attitude lead to a lackluster fireworks experience.

Little Foxes

I don’t know about you, but I find it easy to let little things spoil my fun. Like the Bible says “the little foxes spoil the vine.” (Song of Solomon 2:15)

I’m even willing to admit that I haven’t always looked forward to family gatherings. To me a family get together meant working to prepare for it, struggling to make it happen, feeling a little bit exhausted (because I feel like I have to spend equal amount of time with every person in attendance), getting caught up in someone else’s drama, and a bunch of other little things that prevented me from enjoying the moment.

But this year, I made a decision. I made a mental note to enjoy the day every step along the way. I decided I wasn’t going to allow any little foxes to spoil my vine – not one! I determined to take my Heavenly Father’s advice and be thankful for all things (no matter what). And this was a real game changer for me.

Of course, I could have let the 102 degree day paired with no pool empty enough to fit into ruin our day, but instead we laughed about it and decided to have a great time being hot.

As the fireworks went off, I oooohhhhed and aaaahhhhed out loud. I must say… the oohhs and aahhs really brought my personal fireworks experience to a whole Nother level.

God Knows Best

Sometimes it seems like the Bible is asking us to do some difficult things, but I’ve discovered the very things we consider “hard” are considered “hard” because we aren’t used to doing them.

When we decide to try doing things God’s way, we’ll discover these things aren’t hard at all. Instead, we’ll discover that God’s way is actually the best way because it always brings joy in the end.

Your Turn

Have you ever let those nasty little foxes spoil your vine?

Have you ever found taking things for granted (or not being thankful) made your evening forgettable?

And last but not least, what did you enjoy most about this year’s 4th of July? Fireworks, family… BBQ?

Take a moment or two and join the conversation to share with me and everyone reading right now your experiences so that we can all grow and learn together!