I spent the vast majority of my 9-to-5-day today in meetings, discussing "things" and "stuff" with "people." I talked about plastic wall hanging things, acoustic treatment of a gymnasium, the father of someone I know dying, the sister of someone I don't know dying, the future of my church (organizationally and spiritually), and a T-shirt design. I'm not sure how effective any of my conversations were. I'm not sure if anything I discussed today will actually end up making a difference in the universe. One thing I do know is that I poured myself, heart and soul, into all the conversations that I did have.
Before I left my office today, one of our church elders stopped by. He was having a few of us look over his will and sign a few things. He's been fighting cancer for several years now. He had been given a clean bill of health a few years ago, but now the cancer's back and more intrusive than ever. Now he's facing another risky surgery in an attempt for more knowledgeable and skilled surgeons to get the rest of the tumor that the first ones couldn't. As I listened to him talk, I was filled with a sense of respect, admiration, and, yes, even love. Many people, when faced with a similar situation, choose complaining and misery over optimism, joy and purpose. This man has chosen to face his cancer head on while making the most of however many days he has left on this earth.
When I came home from work, I was greeted by the most beautiful woman in the world who had worked to prepare a delicious meal for our family: some sort of garlic-red-sauce noodles, salad, garlic bread, with a glass of Cabernet already poured for me. My 5 and 3 year old girls hugged and kissed me, then proceeded to to tell me about their (mis)adventures at the zoo today. Delaney (3) not only peed her pants while at the zoo, but proceeded to do it once again when she got home. That girl just loves to pee wherever she is. I can't say that I really blame her. In the past, I've been harsh with her for her failing to control her bladder, but today it just didn't seem to matter...
After dinner, the 2 girls went outside to play in the sandbox with a little neighbor girl (who I'm not sure knows how to speak English...good thing my kids watch Dora), leaving Lynn and I alone with the 7-month-old. Earlier in the day, I had burned a few DVD's of our family movie from 2 years ago for the purpose of sending to family members on Mother's Day. (I KNOW we're behind...stop judging!) We plugged the movie into the player, mostly for the purpose of making sure the DVD burned correctly. Lynn and I then sat and watched pictures and video of "things" and "stuff" that happened in our lives 2 years ago: pony rides on Cinco de Mayo, our trip to Vegas for Lynn's Mrs. United States Pageant, a trip to the state fair with amazing friends, and the kids learning how to play in the snow.
* Side note...humanity has always longed to travel through time. I am utterly amazed that we have the ability, thanks to modern technology, to revisit these moments in the past via photos and video. Pretty freakin' remarkable time that we live in...
I do NOT have the same kind of drive as my wife does when it comes to capturing moments for posterity. She takes pictures and video all the time, writes down funny moments in the kids' baby books, and scrapbooks all the memories. I will probably never scrapbook a page in my life, but I am eternally grateful for the time and energy that my wife puts into it. (Also, my wife learned how to edit video on iMovie for the purpose of doing these family videos. That's pretty stinkin' sexy, if you ask me...). If my house was to catch fire, the number one thing I would grab, aside from my family members, would be these scrapbooks. When I look through their pages, I am reminded of what is most important in this life: relationship. And, as the old saying goes, relationship is spelled T-I-M-E.
I don't really care that much about the plastic wall hangers or the T shirt design; what I really care about, at the end of the day, are the relationships that I have invested in. I care about my relationship with my Heavenly Father, who gives blessings and mercy and love and grace and gifts that I have done literally nothing to earn. I care about my relationship with my wife, whom I love more than any other human being there is. I care about my relationships with my children, because God has entrusted them to me for a short little while. I care about my relationships with friends, coworkers, & church family, because I believe that relationship is the only thing that will last into the next age of New Creation.
I'm going to try an experiment tomorrow. Whenever I feel myself getting frustrated or mad, I'm going to remind myself of how I feel right now. I long to hold onto this perspective. May we all grow in our ability to see past the fluff and the distractions and the superfluous and see the heart of the matter.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. - Philippians 4:8
Very nice. I needed to read that!
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