Priorities: July 21, Daily Reflection

Priorities

My four children

My four children

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove…but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.”

-Successories

Not long after Aaron and I got married we went into a Successories store they sell motivational messages with stunning pictures attached to the message.  Priorities is the one you see above.  He bought the large 16X20 framed one with a print of a little girl in front of a sunset for me years ago.  It is hanging in our foyer.  It is the first thing you see when you walk into my house.  It is what I live by. It is against what the majority of our culture believes.

When we went camping this weekend we rented a boat and everyone was able to go tubing and swimming off the boat it was lots of fun.  One evening I was able to take a sunset ride with a friend and her family.  It was unbelievable how still the water was it was like a mirror reflecting the surrounding trees.  The sky was a pink/purple hue.  The man who owned the boat was teaching his niece to drive the boat, he of course was holding on to the steering wheel as well.  My good friend her mom said to me “I wish I could give this to my daughter, I grew up coming to the lake on a boat, I want her to have it too”.  My friend is not caught up in the material possession thing, she wanted her child to be able to appreciate nature and have those same experiences as she did as a child.  We want to give our children all the good things we ever had not because we want to spoil them but because we love them so much.  I said to the mom ” I know you want to be the one to give her these experiences but she is making memories with her uncle that will never be forgotten.  She will relate going to the lake and boats and fun times tubing with him and you as well.  It’s great that another member of your family can share those precious times with your children.”

We want to be the ones to give our children the world.  But I have learned over the years that we need to share the giving with others.  Each year around my children’s birthdays they have an Oma/Opa day and a Grandma/Grandpa day.  It is a day that each of my children go for the day with each set of grandparents and they get to go where they want and do what they want and spend the entire day with them.  These times will be forever etched into their memories because it was time spent with someone they loved so much.  I want to be the one to give them time and spoil them rotten but what a gift it is to let them be loved so much by others as well.  I am not saying shove your children off on others at all! I am saying try sharing the memories of your children’s childhood with other family members as well.  We can give our children things but what they want is time and what a gift to let them have time with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins as well.

So today think about it.  Are you in a family situation in which you would feel comfortable letting your child have a grandparent day.  Do you have a brother/sister you would like to spend the day with along with your children. Don’t send your child alone if you don’t feel comfortable you can be right by their side but taking the time to let them be a part of new memories will always be treasured by your child as well as yourself. How wonderful is it for a child to know he/she was important to not just to his/her parents but to his/her grandparents and aunts or uncles as well, the more they are loved the more they will love!

 

 

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