As I sit here at the local coffee shop, I have the privilege of having my daughter sitting beside me. She is listening to music on her phone and texting friends while I have been studying and writing this blog. She is now in high school. She is a freshman.
Every glance in the proverbial, rear-view mirror shows the early elementary and later elementary years have almost drifted out of sight. Middle school for my daughter and high school for my sons is closer in the mirror but the vehicle of time keeps moving.
Taking a pause to consider these things reminds me of the need to consider my days. This morning in my daily reading I encountered Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” COVID has taken a season. And national turmoil could take another. I confess that I can justify my mental and emotional distance from my family by occupation with “higher and more pressing“ concerns.
But what could be more pressing than investing in the next generation? And who needs me to show up more than my kids? And is life more than a composite of current events? When I look at the world, when I watch the news, when I become sucked into the vortex of never-ending causes and global concerns . . . I find myself sliding away from the things that matter most.
I believe that we will all be surprised when we discover our greatest contribution to the world. And it is quite unlikely that it will be our political responses to current events. It will likely be relationships. It will be a life-giving relationship by which we sat down and developed a friendship with someone who doesn’t look like us. It will be encouragement offered to a child who took on wisdom in the moment.
Very few of us will wish that we had been more connected to media and current events when we breathe our last. I am at this point blogging for me. And maybe someone else can relate. But this week I am contemplating how much this world will steal from me in terms of relationship and time and influence with my family . . . But only if I let it.
