“So,” you may be asking yourself, “what happened to Monday’s blog?”
Life happened to Monday’s blog.
Community happened to Monday’s blog.
Family happened to Monday’s blog.
It was blog prep time vs. family. So, guess who won?
Family.
Family always wins.
If I just gave you the list of my weekend activities, it could sound like a list of obligations, but they weren’t. Obligation couldn’t be further from the truth. It was a busy weekend, but the activities were all opportunities to love, enjoy and build relationships. I will choose that every time.
To give this some context, there’s something you should know about me. I am fiercely loyal. Gary Smalley’s personality assessment identifies my main personality type as a “Golden Retriever.” We are all animals to Gary Smalley, apparently. Golden Retriever hardly sounds fierce, but trust me, I am – at least when it comes to loyalty.
In my world, family isn’t limited to flesh and blood, either. I have acquaintances and friends, but I also have friends who are family. Debbie and I have spent almost our entire married life away from parents and siblings. Our friends became our family. We learned community. We learned to do life with other families. Thanksgiving, Easter and Superbowl have been “family” times for us with friends.
Connection is everything. Family is everything. So, when there’s an opportunity to double date to an amazing concert on Friday, welcome a son home from college, help close friends move on Saturday and celebrate a daughter’s birthday on Sunday, something will have to take a back seat. That would be Monday’s blog. Monday’s blog had to take the back seat.
“This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.” ~ John 15:12-13 (The Message)
We weren’t meant to do life apart from community. There are some things that are too precious to miss, so we must make room for them – even if it means missing a blog here and there. Family is too important for the back seat.
In my world family always wins. Always.
How about yours?
Scott, good word.
I got this priority wrong the first 18 years of ministry. I have a graceful and forgiving family, and it’s taken a lot of work to get it right.
The crazy thing is, if you get this right, you actually end up more productive and effective than if you are grinding out hour after hour of work.
What if there were, like, 10 really good rules on how to structure life? And some of them had to do with honoring family and rest? That would be awesome. Right? Oh well…
Great thoughts, Bill – especially the 10 rules for structuring life. You really got me thinking.