We went to our local Christmas parade today.

Not knowing the exact route (should have checked), we positioned ourselves nearly at the end of the parade. By the time the line snaked its way to us, the walkers were weary, the waves weren't quite as spirited, the singing was quieter.... and the candy was nearly gone.

*Gasp* the horror -- no candy!

And for whatever reason... the kids immediately in front of our kids were getting all the candy that was being dispersed. Not just the candy tossed, but also the candy handed out. The paraders would come over to the side of the road, give the other kids their candy, then completely skip our kids. Even the other two children with us would get candy, and they'd skip A&D. Not sure why...

Anyway, Amara did get frustrated with it, completely not understanding why she was getting skipped. Frankly, neither did I.

I know it was more the hurt of being skipped than the candy though -- it was all nasty candy in the first place!

After being passed by for the um-teenth time, I said, "Amara, do we still have Halloween candy at home?" She answered, "Yes." I asked, "Do we still have a lot more Halloween candy at home that what they're throwing here?" She answered, "Yes."

And suddenly, all was right with the world.

Now each time she got passed by, she turned to me and said, "That's OK, we've got a TON of candy at home."

Don't get me wrong -- she still dove after every starlight mint that came her way (gag), but she was OK with not getting their first.

Why is it that my heart hurts so bad to see my kids getting passed over for something as frivolous as candy I don't even like (nor do they)? And how much can I learn myself from my daughter's lesson in perspective? Why do I need "more" of any material thing when I've already got plenty at home?

In fact... because of Jesus Christ, I have everything I could ever want.

John 3:30 "He must become greater. I must become less."