The Lollipop Conundrum

A few months ago my in-law sent me a package. They had asked us if there was anything that we needed.  Yes! We need lollipops! Peruvians seem to believe that handing out giant gum filled lollipops to kids under the age of 5 is normal. You can’t seem to buy lollipops that aren’t the size of your head and has a massive wad of gum in the center of them.

Naturally my son loves lollipops and when I tell him he can’t have his lollipop that was given to him at school, he loses it! No son, I don’t really feel like waiting 3 hours for you to finish that lollipop and then I don’t really feel like spending 2 more hours after you have finished that glossy outer shell digging gum out of your teeth. No son, you can’t have your lollipop!

So when my in-laws asked me what we need Dum-Dum’s came to mind. Now I know that seems like a silly “need” but I knew that my son would be delighted that we finally would let him eat a lollipop! When we got our package I was ecstatic to find a giant “Sam’s Club” size bag of Dum-Dum’s in our box. Wow, I thought, this will last us quite some time! I was wrong.  I know what you are thinking. You are thinking it won’t last because my son will consume them all. Not that case at all in fact. When we got the bag we stashed in our lowest drawer. Eli is not allowed to open any of our drawers so I thought it was safe. Well, it was safe until he saw me pull a lollipop out one day…It was all down hill from there. 

We started potty training a couple months ago.  Sometimes after he goes “tinkle” sometimes he gets a special treat. One of those special treats is a lollipop. After school he eats lunch, goes tinkle, has a lollipop then goes and takes a nap (don’t tell our resident dentist/household Grandpa, he would strongly disapprove). When Eli discovered where we kept the lollipops he insisted on picking out his own lollipop. Not only did he want to pick out his own but he wanted to pick out one for Mom and Dad also. If dad wasn’t home when it was time to pass out lollipops, Eli would kindly place it on the stairs and leave it there waiting for dad to come home. A lot of times we thank him for sharing and when he isn’t looking we put it back in the bag. Eli quickly caught on to that, so now he opens the lollipops up for us and stands there and watches us until we put it in our mouth, quickly followed by  “Chweers” of the lollipops (literally we have to cheers the lollipops, which is so disgusting but whatever).

Eli finds SO MUCH joy in sharing his lollipops. I realized this today. I was depriving my son of joy for fear that we would to quickly run out of lollipops because he “wasted” them on us. I was so busy being consumed and worried about how devastated he will be when they are gone that I forgot to live in the moment and enjoy the pleasure my son partook in sharing with us. I strive so hard to teach him how to share and when he does I denied him.

How often do we ask and ask and ask the Lord for something in our lives and we He gives it to us we are to busy not letting go of being worried about how He will see sustain us. How He will miraculously continue to supply us with what He has given us.

I can’t buy Dum-Dum’s here, how will I get them when they are gone? Do I trust my son will "be ok” with out them? I know he will be fine. It’s just a silly lollipop. But, that silly lollipop has taught me more about living in the moment and learning to find joy in the small things. To trust that we will always have enough even when I don’t know how to get more?

Will I trust that the Lord will sustain me when I have to completely rely on Him to get what He promises? Probably not always. I’m just being honest. I hope one day I will but I’m not there yet. Until then I hope to see the moments where I can grow and trust Him completely