As I sit here in the living room, I am watching Hannah Montana The Movie with my family. So many things happened today that are the normal goings on of our family.....
cleaning, making meals, a birthday (in a family of 12 this is a fairly common occurrence), playing, more cleaning :)
Funny, as normal as these things are, recently I have begun to treasure them as though they might happen only once.
Today, my mom kept thanking me for all the things I did to help her, but I don't think she realized how glad I was to be able to do so. Years ago, as I asked God why I wasn't able to do missions, I learned this: many of us think that we deserve a standing, a certain degree of respect, in our family circle because they are, well, family. It seems to me that I have a harder time serving those of my family than those who are my friends, and even strangers! For many years I wanted to go on mission trips and DO something; it wasn't until I realized that it was as equally important to serve my family that God allowed me to go to Mexico for a short time. I enjoyed that time immensely.
Over the years, when I put myself before my family, I am reminded of this lesson. Now, as the days become more and more fleeting as my departure date approaches, I wish I would have spent more time with the different family members, doing things that were important to them; these are the memories I am already reminiscing.
I confess: I am still very selfish in my motivation to serve them; I want to endear myself to them, to be loved greatly of them. I want them to miss me as much as I will miss them; I hope they will be as excited to have me back as I will be to return to them.
All this on a greater scale: Serving Jesus brings far more joy and has much greater returns!
Til Next Type~
~B
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