Sulking that he lost his job and his mother had passed away, he bitterly questioned in his heart "God, I've done everything I can do. I am loving and respectful towards others, I donate my services to charity, I spend time with my children, I pray, and I'm honest with others. Why would you allow this to happen?"
He spent weeks letting the anger and frustration build. He felt forgotten and unloved. He began to lose a desire to do anything. He quit looking for work as everything just seemed to be working against him. Each morning, he found it increasingly more difficult just to make it out of bed.
His wife became very concerned. She knew in due time the family couldn't survive without another paycheck coming in. She was yet even more concerned that her husband appeared to be broken. There was no light left in him. She loved him dearly, and wanted to see the person she fell in love with be the best version of himself. Distraught, she prayed with all the love and hope she had in her. As she prayed, she felt a feeling of comfort come over her. She felt impressed to ask her husband to spend the day with the kids.
She entered the room, and pulled the cash out of her purse which she had gotten recently for her birthday. She asked her husband to take the children to the zoo. "What's the point?" he said in a defeated manner. She was a little shocked at his answer...as she knew it's what The Lord wanted. She felt a warmth in her heart encouraging her to continue. "You need this. Our children need this. Being a good father has nothing to do with your employment status. It has everything to do with providing for your family. Right now what your family needs is love."
"But how can I give that if I can't even put food on the table?" he said.
"You've been putting food on the table since the day we married" she replied. "Maybe God is trying to help you learn to provide in ways you never have before."
He looked into his wife's eyes. Although he still felt bitter toward God he saw she sincerely wanted to make the situation better. To appease her, he reluctantly decided to go. She handed him the cash. He was humbled at the gesture.
He loaded his children into the car. They were so excited at the thought of spending the day with dad and seeing all the animals at the zoo. Seeing the smiles on their faces he began to tear up.
They arrived at the zoo. As he paid for the tickets, he felt guilt in his heart...thinking that he wished his wife would have joined. He was reminded of several other trips previously where he never gave a second thought as to how much it had cost. It pained him to think things had gotten so bad that something so small was now paid at what was seemingly such a high price.
As they entered through the gate, he saw the look on his children's faces. They were so happy. So innocent. Not a care in the world except to experience what was in front of them.
He wanted that. He felt a calming sensation come over him...as he thought of how nice it would be to carry the optimism his children had. To be happy regardless of circumstance would be a luxury indeed.
After a couple hours of seeing various sights and animals, his children began to complain of hunger. He hadn't even thought about it. He only had a few dollars left. He took them to order some food. Looking at the prices, he realized he could only afford to purchase an order of fries to share. He handed the money and secured a small lunch to share with the kids.
Looking around, he noticed all the other families had plenty to eat. He felt terrible inside. He looked once again at his children's faces which were full of joy. They didn't care that others had more. They were just enjoying the moment.
Hoping to ensure they had a good time at lunch without taking notice of what everyone else had, he told them several jokes he had enjoyed when he was a kid. As they laughed together, he felt full in his heart. He hadn't felt that kind of joy in so long it seemed almost overwhelming. How did the little things he had in the past all of the sudden become so much more meaningful?
He was reminded of what his wife had said that morning: "Maybe God is trying to help you learn to provide in ways you never have before." He realized his children were teaching him. They were an example of pure love, focused not on their living circumstance...but just living in the moment and making the best if it.
His youngest child saw a child with a snow cone. He asked for one. Unfortunately, there was not enough money for all the kids to have a snow cone. He tried to explain to the three year old that he couldn't have it...and to finish his fries so he wouldn't be hungry.
The three year old got upset and began to scream. He tried to calm him down. He did said everything he could to try to explain that he just needs to eat his fries. He was fully capable of getting him the snow cone but didn't feel it would be fair to the other children. His child continued to scream.
Frustrated, he pondered what he should do. They had been having such a good day up to that point. He prayed in his heart. He felt he should save some of the fries and take his son to see the tigers. He picked him up, and walked the children to the tiger cage. Still crying and screaming, his son was not being cooperative.
He looked at his son...made some claws, and began to growl. "Rawr..." His boy laughed. He started making growling noises as well. He completely forgot about the snow cone and was once again focused on enjoying the moment.
When everyone was back to having a good time, he reached down to his three year old and gave him some more fries to ensure he would make it for another couple hours before it was time to leave. As he fed his son the fries, he realized he had acted much the same way.
In his current circumstance, his mother gone...unemployed, he wasn't seeing things in the right perspective. Just as his son was so focused on getting a snow cone, he was also focused on getting what he wanted when he wanted it. Just as his son couldn't see he didn't really need the snow cone and needed to focus on making the best of the moment, so did he. He chuckled at the thought of how childish it must look to God staying in bed and feeling sorry for himself when he should be making the best of the moment.
Later when they returned home he walked up to his wife, kissed her, and tearfully thanked her. She saw the light had returned to his countenance. He was renewed. He appreciated what he had more than ever before.
As he knelt down to pray with his wife that evening, he thought of his mother. He thought of how special she was to him, and how thankful he was that she had made such great sacrifices to give him a good childhood. He resolved to give the same to his wife and children. He resolved to respect that his ways are not always Gods ways. He resolved to be a student in every trial rather than a victim. And they really did...live happily ever after.
