Enjoy Family
I think it is very easy to look at our families and take them for granted or underappreciate them. You know that age old saying, ‘You never know what you have until its gone.’
Family is a great example of that slogan. You are born in them, love them, then can’t stand them, and eventually want to get as far away from them as possible. Does that sound about right?
Time is fleeting
All of us have a family history. Some of our stories are more or less pleasant than others. However, for those of us who have our own families, would benefit from not taking them for granted or under appreciating them in any way.
To take our family for granted is the idea that we assume we always have time. Let’s steer away from the obvious fact that tomorrow is not promised, and instead focus on the fact that time is fleeting... Psalm 144:4 They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.
We are in our 40’s( Well, Erica is in her 40’s and Terrence is in his 30’s 😊) and can look back and remember living with the families we grew up in, and that seems like ages ago.
Just imagine how surreal it is for our parents! Time waits for no one. Anyone who has a 10 year old or older has experienced that first hand. It seems like yesterday right, that you held them in your arms, or rocked them to sleep after they had a long day at the park. The times of dressing them, feeding them, or kissing their ouchie to make it all better seems like a distant memory.
Time waits for no one.
In those moments from birth to 10, how many times did you not fully watch the silly dance they wanted to show you, or listen to the extra long imaginative story about their day? How many times did you say next time when they asked to play the card game or have a tea party? How many times will you get those opportunities or moments back? NONE!
We never get back those seconds, minutes, hours, or days. Taking this time for granted hurts you in the end. These moments are precious, let’s enjoy them as they happen.
These moments are precious, let’s enjoy them as they happen.
We also can be unappreciative of our families. This is something we do with our children and our spouses alike.
We don’t appreciate the late night feedings, the diaper changes, or protecting them from the monsters in he closet. We don’t appreciate the hard work our spouse puts into our families whether going to work 50 hours a week to provide for the families needs, or the cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the home they do.
Those blessings easily get overlooked and underappreciated when we have ‘so much to do’. We need our sleep in order to be productive and we need to be productive in order to feel adequate. So not being intentional on enjoying the night feedings or stopping to tell our spouse thank you for all that they do is ok, right? No, that’s wrong! Again, staying away from the obvious point of tomorrow is not promised, when will you get the opportunity back to appreciate those moments when they are gone?
We need our sleep in order to be productive and we need to be productive in order to feel adequate.
Our 6 year old who comes into our room almost every night and makes a pallet on the floor next to our bed, because he doesn’t care to sleep in he and his brothers room throughout the night, will not do this forever. We have learned to appreciate seeing him there in the morning, because one day we’ll look down from our bed and he’ll be there no longer.
Our spouse will one day retire and there will be no more opportunities, after a long day at work, to remind them of how much we appreciate what they do for the family.
The reality is time is passing away, none of these moments we will ever get back. God gave us this life and a set amount of time to enjoy it. Once that time is gone, its gone.
Bask in the moments! Play cards, listen to the long story, appreciate the late night feedings, and tell your spouse, or show your spouse how very much you appreciate them. We will never get these moments back.
Enjoy Family Today!!!
Be Faithful, Be Free
T & E Young