This has been a busy week. Aren't they all, though? Jackson came home from a week long camp, just in time to start getting ready to leave for China with Luke. Lanie and I have been trying to get things done as well in order to fly to Texas and then go home for a day before driving north to Minneapolis for another 4 days. And I feel like even in all of the busyness of getting things done and preparing for trips ((yeah right...preparing *laugh*), God has been moving and speaking. And about one thing in particular...
Luke was able to take off work on Tuesday of this last week to attend a funeral with us in Sumner, where we pastored a church for 6 years. A funeral is never something we look forward to (obviously) but it's always amazing to see people I love so much all come to one spot. This particular funeral was for a grandpa. Grandpas seem to be one of the most loved people in the world and this one was no different. The church was packed to standing room only.
As I sat there and listened to the stories of this grandpa and the relationship he had with his children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren, I saw that there was a similar theme running through all of the stories...and it was the same exact thing my heart keeps wandering back to this week. Time.
Although a lot of the stories revolved around fishing and hunting and checking the garden and 'engineering' new ideas, the common thread always revolved around the time that was spent together. Every child who spoke...every grandchild who shared...it was always the same. And this is not a little family. Story after story it went. "Grandpa and I would spend time doing this..." and "when grandpa and I did this...".
It was amazing to hear.
I heard about the special nicknames he gave to every single grandchild and the stories on why they received it.
I heard how they would go for drives and joke and laugh and look for animals out in the trees by the road.
And how they would go out in the boat but forget the paddles, leaving them with their imaginations and a shovel to get to shore.
So many stories. And honestly not one person who talked to me told me about the money he spent on them or the birthday parties he threw for them or the incredible wisdom he passed down; although maybe he did do all of those things. Instead they talked about being together and feeling known by him.
And as I sat and listened to the stories being shared, God pressed into my heart. I started thinking about all of my favorite memories with the people I love. Every single one of those memories involve people investing time into a relationship with me. Getting to know me and inviting me into their daily adventures (which at times include getting groceries and doing laundry and talking about life and the things that interest us and make us excited).
It doesn't feel that difficult to be generous in sharing our house...or even our things (well, it sometimes feels difficult to share my favorite Hawaiian coconut peanut butter, because you guys, I can't even describe to you how amazing it is. I just want to hide it in the back of the fridge so no one ever finds it. I don't...but I want to). It's not that hard most of the time to give financially when there is a need, or even a want. And it's fun to give gifts and plan parties and events and send our kids to camps or retreats. Those things aren't wrong. Don't misunderstand me, I missed Jackson when he was at camp for a week...like A TON...but you guys would not believe how much I got done having just one child at home. If the offer had been there, the girl child's bags would've been packed to go as well and I would've spent a week of productivity and bike riding and trail running and frolicking and maybe even taking a few naps in the middle of the day. And they both would've had such great times while away too! Camps and retreats aren't bad. I think that God asks us to be generous with everything and those things are probably included. But time...time is hard. It requires extra effort and patience and more energy than I have some days.
And it's not JUST with our kids. If it were it would maybe be a little less daunting. It's with our spouses and our family members and friends and coworkers and whoever else we're investing in (hint hint DISCIPLING AND GROWING). It's getting to KNOW the people in my life and taking them with me when I do things. It's listening when they talk and sharing my life with them in return (which is way harder for me. "So tell me about life...uh huh, uh huh...awesome! Oh how am I? I'm great! LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR STUFF AGAIN!" Amiright??). I'm exhausted just thinking about it...
I obviously don't have this all figured out. I just know that I want to be someone who is intentional with my time. I want to share it openly, yet wisely. I want to invest in the things I do with my people. And make memories. I want to KNOW the people in my life (I feel like that's a crazy thought. Aren't we supposed to just use 'hey! How are you?!' as a greeting???). I want to choose to teach instead of doing things myself, even though doing things on my own is faster, and probably better (well...it is! Don't judge). I want the my people to know that I KNOW them and I want for them to KNOW me.
I wonder how different my life would look with a few little changes in intentionality.
And I'm hoping to find out...
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