It has finally gotten warmer here over the last couple of days, so today I was able to ride my bike to work. Riding my bike to work means a couple of great things for me. For one, I don’t spend the extra money on the bus. But most importantly, I get home an hour earlier than I do taking the bus. This was perfect because it meant for the first time in several months, I was able to go with Cambria to the park. She has been in desperate need of getting out of the house and letting out some of that 2 year old energy, so this was a perfect opportunity to do that. Plus Daddy just happens to love playing with her there.
But of course I thought I might have a little time to get something done too. I’ve been behind on my daily Bible reading, for a variety of reasons, so I thought maybe I would be able to get caught up a little bit while Cambria ran around. I didn’t plan to read the whole time, but I thought I might get a couple of chapters done at least. So I took the Bible I’m using, and rode to the park with her. When we got there I played with her for several minutes, and finally took a seat on a bench where I could be in a safe distance, and began to read some. Within a minute or two, Cambria was calling my name. I told her I was reading. So she promptly came over to me, and told me once again that she wanted my attention. I told her again that I was reading at the moment. This was not acceptable to her. She didn’t fuss though, or throw a fit – she simply began to close the Bible on me. At this point I realized that she really wanted me to play with her, so I put it down and ran off and we had a lovely time together.
But this got me to thinking about the time that we spend with our children, and really just our family in general. This is really a worldwide problem; people just don’t spend time together. For a lot of people, it is certainly for selfish reasons, but I don’t think that’s always the case. In many cases, the people are genuinely working hard, either to provide for their family, or just to give their all to the work they find themselves in. Take for example ministers – I use this example because it is the one with which I have the greatest connection. Ministers can put in a lot of hours per week. Between preparing sermons and classes, doing Bible studies, visiting the sick and widowed, counseling, etc., many ministers can easily put in over 70 hours a week. Once you subtract hours for sleep and other basic necessities of life, you wind up with very few hours of free time per week, if any. So what happens? Other important things get pushed to the side. And while my focus in this post is on family, it’s not just family that takes the beating. Other important matters like health (both physical and mental) and spiritual well-being pay the price, too. The minister gets so caught up in the very good and important work that they are doing, that they forget about so many other matters that need to be attended to. So often their family is at the top of that list of forgotten concerns. And that’s part of how we end up with all sorts of scandals involving ministers who seemed like they were working so hard at being a good minister. In some cases at least, they were working hard at being a good a minister, and that is part of the problem!
Was I wasting time reading the Bible out at the park? Of course not. It’s not like I was playing a video game on my iPod or something. I was reading the Bible and trying to stick to a valuable commitment that I made for the year. But my daughter was not concerned about that. She wanted and needed some time with her daddy. She wanted me to run around and play with her. To goof off and just have some fun. That’s what I did, and I’m so glad I did – I’m so glad she interrupted me and made it clear that I needed to focus on her – we made some memories that I otherwise would not have.
You may recognize the phrase “arbeit macht frei.” I remember seeing it when I visited Dachau in 2003 during my semester abroad. It’s a slogan the Nazis posted around their concentration camps. It was just one of the many ways they controlled the people there. It was a lie then, and it’s a lie now. Work is important, don’t misunderstand, but it won’t set you free. Only Christ can do that. And Christ is the very one who points us to the importance of loving and caring for our family relationships.
I could quote you a bunch of Scripture to make my point, but I won’t do that here – it’s there for you to find if you so choose. I just wanted to remind you, as my daughter reminded me today, what is illustrated in the Calvin and Hobbes comic above. Sometimes, you just need to set some things aside, and make time for the things that are truly important. Sometimes you need to let a loved one interrupt you, no matter what you’re doing, so you can nurture that relationship. That time will make all the difference in your life, and will vitally change the legacy you leave behind.
I loved this one, Les. Mostly just because I enjoy the idea of you and Cambria playing around outside, but also because it’s so easy to miss what’s important.