Make Time For Family
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:" -- Ecclesiastes 3:1
Time. It's one of those things we never seem to have enough of. Our days, and even our nights, are scheduled to the max. Everything is rush, rush, rush. It seems there's no time to just laugh and enjoy the people around us.
Our family gathered to celebrate my Dad's 81st birthday. My cousins and I shared stories of the family gatherings of our childhoods. We played together and celebrated birthdays and holidays together. We grew up knowing and loving one another.
The same isn't true for the younger generation. They don't know one another and the fault lies squarely with those of us in the older generation. Time. We never seem to have time to get together, to eat and laugh and play games. We never seeem to just sit down and visit and share parts of our lives with one another. Yet, what is more important than time spent with people you love?
My Dad's sister was almost one year younger than he. Eight days separated the siblings. Their younger brothers came 13 and 15 years later. Aunt Verlon died from cancer back in 1994. Uncle Gene, whose laughter echoed through our family gatherings, followed three years later. My cousins, all busy with their families, became orphans. The family was never the same. It was Aunt Verlon who brought us all together.
My own parents are growing older and their health is starting to fade. I know God has blessed me in having them this long and in such good physical shape. It doesn't make this transition any easier. One cousin said she didn't know which was harder: loosing them too early or having to watch them waste away from age. Both are heartbreaking in their own way.
We have time for the things we value. We schedule sports events, hair appointments, shopping trips. Why don't we schedule time with family? Why do we wait for someone else to step up and bring the family together? Why do we take for granted the people we value the most?
There is a time for everything. The Bible says so. We have time for each other. We just have to reach out and grab it.
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