There comes a time, friends, when you realize just how precious your life and the life of your friends and family is. Christmas and New Years have come and gone and today we stand at the beginning of a new chapter in our lives and we look to the question everyone looks to at the beginning of a new year: Will this be the year we keep the resolutions we have made? Normally mine would be to lose weight, exercise more, and eat healthier. However - for some reason those seemed a bit frivolous this year. I made only 2 resolutions - to become a better friend to those I love and to draw closer to my Lord while drawing closer to them. As I sat around the Christmas Tree with my family this year I was overwhelmed with a feeling I don't normally experience when I gather with them. I found myself taking in and savoring every moment we spent with one another. I had a pile full of presents at my feet to open but this year they didn't matter - my family did. I started thinking about how often I take these people for granted - along with my friends and those I care about. How many more Christmases will we all have to spend together? How many years will pass before our Christmas traditions are ripped apart by storms, differing schedules, or even death? When people ask how my Christmas was I tell them - precious - because thats exactly what it was. How many of you reading today are like me in the respect that we are so fortunate to have a family to spend the holidays with? Now how many of you reading today are like me as we take those people for granted every single day of our lives? Christ has rained down his blessings on me throughout my life through family, friends, and memories and sometimes I have failed to see their importance in my life. As I held the newest member of our family, my 5 month old baby cousin, in my arms I could see the face of God - reminding me that the only gift I needed this year was right there staring back at me.
1 John 3 tells us that our Lord wants to lavish us with his love, and because he does this, friends, we can do the same to others. Our God knew us before we were even born (Jeremiah 1:4-5), and he has searched our hearts (Psalm 139:1), and he has given us the power to change the lives of those around us in his name through love. While Christmas has passed and we are almost a week into the New Year, I know that the best gift you can give someone today - right now - is your love.
It's a rare gift, to really see the blessing that our families are... BEFORE you experience the loss of a near and dear loved one. I know I took my family for granted before the passing of my mom, although I think at 16, most of us take our families for granted. I very quickly learned to value "presence" over "presents".
ReplyDeleteEven as our family has grown larger, many have said "That's too many kids... I prefer only 1-2 so that I can buy them nicer clothing, give them more gifts, and so they can all have their own room." But those things really don't matter in the long term, do they? It's the time we all spend together, playing with hot wheels, laughing at the antics of a toddler, or laughing at the reaction of the zoo keeper's wife in Goodnight Gorilla when she sees all the animals in her bed that are the most important in both my life and the lives of my children.
So glad to hear you had a great time reconnecting with your family!