A Fair Amount of Joy

Labor Day was rapidly approaching and we had no family plans for the long weekend.  What could we do?  It seemed like a waste of a three-day weekend to sit around the house and do nothing.  I suggested going to St. Paul for the Minnesota State Fair.  The response I received from the family was tepid at best.  We go to the Fair about once every three or four years.  I think it takes that long for the family to forget how much they dislike it!  Without any good alternatives, they finally relented and decided to go.

My youngest son took a friend with him - I think he thought that would make it bearable.  We arrived at the Fairgrounds at about 11:30 and immediately began the lively discussions of what we were going to do, where we would meet up, and so on.  Thanks to the modern miracle of cell phones, this discussion was less prone to miscommunication and problems than in the past.  We reminded the youngster to listen for his cell phone and off we went.

My wife and I toured the "Miracle of Birth" barn, which showcased the exciting miracle of a sow giving birth to her pigs.  Ho hum - this farm boy has seen that more than he cared to!  Then we crossed the street to the arena where the 4-H kids were proudly showing off their cattle.  My wife enjoyed that part of the Fair because there were shops that circled the arena and she spent a fair amount of time shopping (I will not apologize for the pun).

Next we entered the horse barn, which is always a highlight of the Fair.  I grew up with horses as a normal part of my life.  We used horses to work the cattle on our farm, and Dad showed his horses a fair amount as well.  Dad's horses were his pride and joy!  As we walked through the horse barn, we had an unexpected surprise.  There were 220,000 people at the Fair on Saturday, and we ran into one of my church's members in the horse barn!  No matter how often things like this happen, it still surprises me.

By this time, my phone was ringing and it was the youngest telling us it was time to eat.  He must have been hungry because he settled for a foot-long hot dog, rather than walk around and look at what was available.  My wife and I were more adventurous and opted for some of the more exotic fare - the wild rice cheeseburgers.  They tasted like a regular cheeseburger to me - sigh.

Another 90 minutes of the Fair was all that my wife and son could stand, and so we headed from there to the Shrine to Materialism, otherwise known as the Mall of America.  I stocked up on some high-quality Earl Grey tea, then spent some time shopping.  For those of you who don't know the difference, buying tea is not shopping - I know what I want and I buy it.  Shopping is wandering from store to store looking at things you didn't know you needed and debating whether you should buy it or not.  Shopping with my wife always ends with me sitting in chairs outside the stores in the hallway.  After more exciting fare at Long John Silver's, our exciting trip to the Cities was complete and we headed home.

Too many times we expect our greatest enjoyment will be found in things like the State Fair.  It is pretty amazing that a fifteen year-old boy would get bored at the State Fair!  The problem was not that there was nothing to do, but that he ran out of money because he bought a fair number of Icees (four)!  When we seek our enjoyment from the things of the secular world, we will be disappointed.  1 Thessalonians 3:9 says, "How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?"  Don't let the significance of this verse pass you by!  The apostle Paul found great joy in a close relationship with God - through close relationships with other believers.  These relationships with other believers brought him closer to God and increased his joy.  Let's strengthen our relationships with our Christian brothers and sisters and I know we will find that great joy in the Lord is the result of those relationships!