Time

My mom commented today that I hadn’t posted anything yesterday. I probably won’t get to it everyday, but I am going to try. When she asked me what I had been doing I told her about the last two days. We had some “unscheduled” fun.

Monday night Savannah had a headache and wasn’t feeling well so she stayed home from school on Tuesday. She went to HBU with me and was quite the ’lil professor. She graded Scantrons, wrote on the whiteboards in my classroom and we had lunch in one of the dormitorys. I’m not sure she’ll feel this way in college but she thought the food was “sooo good.” We had the best time together walking around campus, talking about all kinds of stuff and just enjoying some one on one time.

Today Brittany got her braces off. She’ll be getting them again in middle school but this was still a big day and we went to Buffalo Grill for lunch to celebrate. The weather was absolutely perfect and we opted for outdoor dining. After lunch we decided to play hookie from school a bit longer and went to a nearby toy store. I rarely get the opportunity to go somewhere like that with a single child and when I do, I’m always intrigued by the things that peak their interest. We got a “celebratory” necklace there and then it was back to school.

As we pulled out into the road, we found ourselves behind a pick up truck carrying a life size 3 dimensional Elvis statue. I’m not kidding….the thing looked straight out of the Madame Trussard wax museum. It was hysterical. He was holding a real guitar and everything. Brittany commented…“We should tell dad that we saw Elvis and AND he’s wearing a seatbelt!” (“Elvis” was strapped in with what looked like seatbelts across him.) When they finally turned off the road we made the obligatory comment in a baritone voice…..“Elvis has left the road.”

And we laughed some more.

It was such a special, unplanned time - both days.

It reminded me of something I wrote 2 years ago. It was a time I wanted to remember to enjoy days….just like the last two. And I was glad I had made the time….

When You Have Time #

Recently, my kindergartner had something she really wanted to show me. I was busy making dinner and kept putting her off. I was getting a bit frustrated with her insistence that I drop what I was doing and come…couldn’t she tell that if we were going to eat that night I needed to finish what I was doing? When I told her I was busy, she shrugged her shoulders and said “well let me know when you aren’t “too busy” and walked away.

Something about that exchange really poked a dagger in my heart. I realized I spend a lot of my time being “too busy” to listen to the very ones who I want to listen to most. It seems the demands of everything I have to do get in the way of the things I want to do too often.

Mark 10:13-14 showed Jesus’ very different response when he was faced with being “too busy.” Crowds of people were bringing their children to Him so that they could be touched by the Messiah. The disciples, knowing all that was on the “to do” list for the day, didn’t think He had time for the little ones. They probably felt they were correct in their assumption that he was “too busy” for the children or that they weren’t as important as the grownups.

Scripture tells us that Jesus didn’t like that response at all…in fact, it says he was indignant. He told the disciples “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” And he took those babies and toddlers and surely a few kindergartners into His arms “put his hands on them and blessed them.”

Oh to be more like Him! Lord, help me to remember what is most important. Do I really need to take that phone call right now or can I let it go so we can finish the game we are playing? Can some of those tasks I think must get done really wait until another day? Can’t I take the time to come see something “really cool” my children found in the backyard? And the next time I’m faced with being too busy to listen to the very ones He entrusted me with, I want to think of that long ago day when Jesus did take the time. Even if I can’t drop everything, surely I can stop, just as He did, and take the time to listen, to look into their eyes and touch them. I know the blessing will be theirs and mine. Help me Lord to not be “too busy.”