Time

A father and daughter were commissioned today to go forth to Cuba to share the gifts of Christ through their music ministry. I saw them standing there together and was struck by how fortunate they were to be able to share this experience; that the father took time to purposely engage in life with his child. It’s difficult in our busy lives to put aside the obligations of the day and commit to being actively engaged in our child’s life. We want to left life go along like a predictable Swiss train. No worries, no real problems, children just need food and water and a little attention, then they will go on by themselves as we watch quietly from the station. But it doesn’t happen that way. Life assaults us with pebbles, rocks and boulders….denting the shiny exterior of our predictable Swiss train, sometimes even causing it to stop. It is our commitment to sharing time with our children and the gifts that result from that time that sustain us in strife and sorrow.

I watched them take this vow and I was drawn back to the choice we made in 2005. Wyatt wanted to race in the Grand National Cross County Motorcycle Series. In faith, we stepped out into the foreign and competitive world of racing. Wyatt and his dad embarked on this journey together while I gave support from home. For a year they slept in borrowed trailers, cheap hotels and the back of the pick-up truck. Coming home for a few days to share stories and eager to return to the road. They drove across the better part of the Eastern United States and never once did they stop, say it was too difficult, or give up, Wyatt didn’t know that was a choice.  He told his dad after a race how his bike got stuck in the mud and he had to pull it out and get it started again, how tired he was, how difficult it was, he said,  “I didn’t think I was going to make it, but I did.” Giving up just wasn’t an option. His dad remembers that day with such celebration; our commitment to our son gave him exactly what he needed to move forward with confidence. That was a most precious gift.

We never once thought that in just a few short years our ability to share time with our son would be revoked.

Time with our children is the most valuable gift we can give.  In the beginning, our family built upon the gifts of sharing time together. Memories can be difficult to handle when grieving, they can also be a healing balm. Regardless of how I am able to handle the memories on any given day, be they painful or healing, I will never regret spending time with my son.