No matter how long a vacation might be, it never seems to be long enough. Don’t get me wrong. I love my job and there is often something comforting about coming home to your own house and your own bed, but I always find myself wishing it were just a little bit longer. Perhaps these words have jumped into your head as well, “I wish I had one more day…”
This was the case for me as my family and I made our way home from our trip home to northern Indiana last weekend. For the first time in I don’t know how many years, we were able to get away for Labor Day weekend. We squeezed as much life into those few days as possible. We were able to attend our oldest nephew’s wedding, which I did not officiate. We were able to celebrate my little sister’s birthday with an impromptu party complete with pizza, cake, a campfire, and a long soak in the hot tub. We were able to attend Sunday morning worship at the church where my dad pastors and my mom leads worship. All of that was sandwiched between two trips to one of our favorite places, Syracuse Lake, where we were able to wakeboard and ski for a few hours. It was an action-packed weekend, but it was amazing!
I almost always find myself wishing for one more day.
The car ride home was rather quiet, as per usual for a return trip. The kids had assumed the position with headphones in and cellphones on, while my lovely wife was “window shopping” on Facebook Marketplace. This left me alone with my thoughts, which is often a dangerous proposition. I replayed the events of the weekend in my head and continued to come back to one overriding thought, “It was a great weekend, BUT I wish we had one more day at the lake.” Adding to my inner turmoil was the fact that it had been cold all weekend and the weather forecast for the next day was sunny with highs in the mid-80’s. If I’m being honest, though, that had very little bearing on my desires. I almost always find myself wishing for one more day.
It is quite natural to want more of that which is good and enjoyable in our lives. In my own experience, however, I find that “one more” is rarely enough. I’m guessing most of us can relate. This desire isn’t limited to vacation days. My email address in college was one_more_guitar. I currently have several guitars and I still find myself always wanting one more. When I eat pizza, I always find myself wanting just one more slice. When my alarm goes off in the morning, I just want one more tap of the snooze button. I don’t know where you experience your desire for “one more,” but I’m willing to bet it happens from time to time.
Our greatest temptations in life often stem from our inability to find satisfaction in the good that we have.
Our greatest temptations in life often stem from our inability to find satisfaction in the good that we have. In fact, the original failure of humanity grew out of the temptation for more. Genesis 3 tells us that God had provided humanity with all of the good things they could possibly need and some, but they wanted more. Appreciation for the good they had was obscured by their desire for what they saw as good that was out of reach.
There’s not necessarily anything wrong with wishing for good experiences to continue. It’s quite natural. If we’re not careful, however, we can mortgage the good that is for that which can’t or shouldn’t be ours. Our desire for more results in us thinking less of what we have. In 1 Timothy 6, it reads, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” It’s interesting to me that when we are dissatisfied with the good in our lives, it often leads us to do wrong. When we are content with the good God has given us, our sense of blessing motivates and mobilizes us to do good. While one more day at the lake would have been awesome, I refuse to reflect on what I wish had been. One more is never enough, but perhaps what I had was just right. Regardless, it’s all I get, and that’s good with me.
