Father, I thank You today for the company of my wife. No other competes with her in all she means to me. You have blessed me with a helpmate beyond compare. What a pleasure it is to spend time together! Your generous gift to me is cherished!
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Already today thoughts of cherishing one another have been on my mind. I remember while I worked at Kohl’s, one of the most beautiful things to behold was when a child would reach up and take a parent’s hand as they walked by my counter. I was always tempted to stop them and ask, “Do you know how precious this time is? Do you realize that in just a few short years, for the most part, that won’t happen any longer?” And then I would have liked to have said to them, “Cherish these moments, for they will soon pass.”
I have a kindergartener on my route that gets excited whenever there is someone to pick her up at the end of her driveway (it is so far to walk to her house, lol!) but she is most excited when it is her father. As soon as she sees his truck she squeals, “Daaaadddddyyyy!” Her father and I interact some but with the hustle and bustle of getting kids home it would be difficult to tell him of her excitement and to add, “Cherish these moments, for they will soon pass.”
On the flip side of things, I see women, especially, who would give anything to have one more day with their beloved husband. The ravages of time or disease claimed the one they loved and now they are alone. No one to speak to over supper. No one with whom to run trips into town. No one to reminisce with about the way things were…their children…their parents…the hardships they endured together. No one with whom to laugh. No one with whom to cry. Now they are alone in their remembrances.
I would hope that they took time to cherish those moments they had, for they surely passed too quickly. And now those moments are no more.
Lord Jesus, I have a wife, I have a son, I have a mom and a dad, I have a sister, I have a niece and the addition of her fine husband. And that is just my side of my family. Do I cherish them as much as I should? Do I make the most of every opportunity that we have together? For most assuredly, at some point, these moments will pass and they will be no more.
Lord, please do not let us get so caught up in the craziness and business of life that we forget about what is most important! May we never have the mindset that the ones we love are an inconvenience – that their problems or neediness of our time and energy is a waste. All the things that we think have to get done right here, right now…they can wait. What is more important than the ones closest to our hearts – the ones we pledged to love and honor – the ones we pledged to bring up in the fear and admonition of You? Nothing – absolutely, positively nothing – should outweigh our responsibility – our privilege – to love… Love… Amen.
June 2nd, 2019, Sun, 7:53 pm
