Losing the "Leap List"

Around the new year, Honda started publishing commercials geared at 20-30 somethings. Most of you have seen these commercials, which feature the idea of a "Leap List", or, a list of things you want to do before you take the next big "leap" in life (i.e. get married, have a baby, graduate, etc.) To backtrack a little, when I started our family blog, I decided to, for the most part, stay off my soapbox. However, Honda has pushed me up on my soapbox - at least for this post.

To put it bluntly, these commercials irk me. Or, as they say in Kentucky, "they burn my biscuits." Mainly because they feature couples where one of them turns to the other and says, "I want to get married" or "I want to have a baby." Immediately, time stops and the listener says, "Get married/Have a baby? But there is so much I want to do first." Can you guess why I am perturbed?

As a Christian, my first and greatest joy in life is my salvation in Christ, which can never be taken from me. However, my next greatest joys in life are being a wife and a mother. Why? Because you can't look into the face of your children for the first time without experiencing a joy that dwarfs any trip to Everest, robot-building experience, cave spelunking, or trip to see the Northern lights (all referenced in the commercials). Is there anything inherently wrong with wanting to do these things? Absolutely not. My problem is the inherent selfishness of the idea that "I need to fulfill all of my needs before committing to another person (through marriage or parenthood.)" Not only is this the mark of a person you wouldn't want to marry or parent with, but it also asserts that you need to do all the "fun stuff" before you get married and have children, as if getting married and having children is a sort of humor-less prison where you immediately cease doing anything different or adventurous. Marriage and parenthood are incredible blessings from God and it bothers me to the core when they are presented as a burden.

So, why my sudden need to write about a Honda commercial? These commercials have been on since December of last year. Well, Ethan has been quite sick these past weeks with Croup and wheezing and is exhausted because he struggles to breathe the most at night. Today I was getting dressed when I heard a whisper come from Emma in the living room, "Mooohhhm, mohm!" As I quietly peeked around the corner, I saw my beautiful daughter holding my sweet sleeping son in her lap, smiling and gently stroking his face - he had climbed up in her lap and fallen asleep as she held him. As I looked at my children, I realized that my 4-year-old daughter grasps a concept lost to Honda - looking out for the needs of others can bring infinitely more joy than looking out for yourself. She was so pleased and happy that her brother was finally able to sleep, and that she was able to help.

Is it good to have goals for yourself? Yes, and you should! Just make sure that your goals aren't rooted in a desire to fulfill your selfishness. And FYI Honda, marriage and parenthood have been some of the wildest, funniest, exciting and most challenging times of my life. So, next time you see a "Leap List" commercial, press the mute button and go hug your kids, kiss your spouse, or tell someone in your life what a blessing they are to you!

The Sweetest Thing

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

Philippians 4:3-4