I Just Want to Buy It

Over the weekend, Jackson had a four-day obsession with a Power Ranger phone that turns into what looks like a sword or a knife.

I have a pretty ambivalent relationship to superheroes, especially Power Rangers. I don't like the ones who fight (well, that's about all of them) and definitely don't like the ones that use weapons. Spiderman's web could be considered a weapon, but I feel like that's not as bad because it is an organic part of who he is. But Power Rangers, on the other hand, have knives and swords and all manner of implements - but no guns, I'm not that ambivalent.

I've never let him see a Power Ranger movie, but he still loves them. I've let him have two, neither with a weapon, and dress up as a Ranger for Christmas. I don't like the violence, the battles, the evil that the heroes fight against. I want to keep my boys sheltered from that as long as possible, but he's drawn to it like a moth to light.

So every day for four days it was "I want a Power Ranger phone with a knife, I want a Power Ranger phone with a knife." After he had said this about the 30th time in 15 minutes as we were in the car, I finally said "We'll talk about it later." He then said "I don't want to talk about it, I just want to buy it."

I was struck by the urgency in those words and how true they were for him but also for us as adults. We don't like to be thoughtful, to be patient, to wait; we want what we want right now. And for many of us, we can get it because we have the education, the resources, the ability to satisfy our every need, desire and wish. I struggle with that same urge every day, from the grocery store to the discount store. At night I have a real desire for a donut, so I stop by the store and get one. Even though Wes and Jackson have enough toys to open a store, I see something they would like and I want to go get it for them.

How do we teach our children that life is not about immediate gratification? We have to start with teaching our selves that same lesson. I have to evaluate my own desire, my own spending habits, my relationship with the material goods that are so alluring and seductive. What a challenge! God, give me strength, wisdom and your heart for others.