Living to the Hilt!

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1



Last night I came home from church and wrote about what is most valuable and promised I'd continue to write about what I heard last night and what God has been teaching me this summer about the importance of "little things" in our life

The pastor has daughters who are in elementary school and, during the sermon, he mentioned a conversation he'd had with this admin about the importance of being at his daughters' first day of school this year, even though they weren't entering Kindergarten.  Essentially the pastor's assistant reminded him that the first day of school is important to his daughters and isn't something he should miss.

The pastor also told of how some of the most meaningful conversations he's had with his daughters have been during another activity and when he hadn't "planned on them".  He said that if he'd been too busy to spend that time with them, he would've missed out on those conversations and opportunities.  I thought about my own life and the times I've said "Not right now" or "I'm busy" to my own kids when they've asked to read a book, play a game, or even watch TV with them.  I confess there are countless times that I've begged off of these activities because Candy Land and Special Agent Oso aren't high on my list of entertainment sources.

I've been trying to be better about doing things my kids enjoy, even when it's not something I enjoy or I'm "busy", but last night reminded me again how important that is.  I switched the tables and started thinking about how I'd feel if my husband continually refused to do activities I enjoy, just because they're not his favorites.  I'm 35 years old and have enough experience to know that there are other things "more important" than just sitting on the couch with me watching HGTV, but I still get disappointed when he's doing other activities and not just being with me.  I realized that for my young kids it's even MORE important to them that they know I'm willing to drop everything and show them how important they are to me by doing the "little things" with them.

During the sermon the pastor showed the following quote from Jim Elliot: "Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God".  This is another area where I confess my failure because when I do "give in" and play Candy Land I'm often thinking about the laundry I need to do, wondering if anybody has responded to my facebook status, etc. I think I'm doing a "good job" because I take my kids to the park to play with their friends, while I'm sitting on the bench talking to my girlfriends. The more I think about it, those activities are things they enjoy, but I'm not doing it with them we're spending more time interacting with our friends than we are with each other. I'm learning that I'm not always "all there" and the truth is that, during this season of my life, the will of God is for me to be a wife and a mom.

Instead of planning "quality time" and thinking that's all I need to do for my kids to know their importance in my life I'm going to focus more on the "little things" every day that show them they are important to me.  Outings and family trips are great, but they're less meaningful if the message most other days is "I'm too busy for you . . . "

This week I have challenged myself to make it a priority to do the activities my kids ask me to do, when they ask me to do it AND to be fully present during those activities.