January and February are filled with many different emotions. February 8th at 7:30pm marks the 5 year anniversary of that cold winter night my dad took his last breath here and entered into eternity.
5 years. 5 years without talking to him. 5 years without him making us all laugh at all the times we were 'suppose' to be serious. 5 years have passed and all 5 of his granddaughters have all grown 5 years older. 5 years without his advice, tough love and encouragement helping me through things when I would rather fall down and not move forward. 5 years of seeing the pain behind my moms smile because she lost the love of her life of 40 years. 5 years where my husband has had to go without the only father figure he ever had.
I could write a blog 50 pages long that would chronicle the million and one lessons learned from this loss, grief and even the purpose given to all of it but, instead, I am left with this reoccurring lesson that my dad taught me through his life and death and I will hold onto until the day I take my very last breath.
Time stops for nobody. It keeps moving forward so choose wisely what you do with it. That is the only choice we do have in regards to time. What we do with it & what we pour it into.
Our choice and solution to that question has something to do with people. Eternity will be filled with them. I am left with the understanding that, because the very nature of God is relational, then our life should model that, too, with an emphasis on building relationship with Him and with others.
How we choose to spend our time here pouring into relationships with Him and building relationships with other people is really what time is all about. The 'how' is for you to figure out and seek God for but it should always be about investing your time into other people.
Giving time to your kids even when you're tired and can't possibly answer one more 'why' question from your toddler or one more math question from you junior higher. It is time spent wiping away one more tear because of a broken little heart due to girl drama she didn't want to be in. It is time spent with your spouse even though you want to tell him he was loading the dishwasher wrong...again. Instead, you choose to see the big picture with a life spent with him building your future together, raising kids and choosing to enjoy the journey, chaos and all. It's about time spent helping friends, serving people, and giving back to those who need it. It's about helping those who have no hope, no voice, no direction or understanding of God's love and redemption. It's about offering that hope to everyone God puts in your path. It's investing our time into those people around us.
How we choose to spend our time here pouring into relationships with Him and building relationships with other people is really what time is all about. The 'how' is for you to figure out and seek God for but it should always be about investing your time into other people.
Giving time to your kids even when you're tired and can't possibly answer one more 'why' question from your toddler or one more math question from you junior higher. It is time spent wiping away one more tear because of a broken little heart due to girl drama she didn't want to be in. It is time spent with your spouse even though you want to tell him he was loading the dishwasher wrong...again. Instead, you choose to see the big picture with a life spent with him building your future together, raising kids and choosing to enjoy the journey, chaos and all. It's about time spent helping friends, serving people, and giving back to those who need it. It's about helping those who have no hope, no voice, no direction or understanding of God's love and redemption. It's about offering that hope to everyone God puts in your path. It's investing our time into those people around us.
Time. Such a precious commodity. One that can't be taken back at the end of the day. There are no real life ground hogs day. No do over's. Live life with no regrets. Say I love you. Choose to say sorry over having to be right and win all the time. Don't throw away a relationship because it didn't serve you well enough (excluding toxic relationships obviously). Believe the best in people and use your words to build up not tear down.
People matter and spending your time on that will never be a waste. You have the choice as to how you spend your time. Why not use it to invest in other lives? I promise the return on it is of eternal importance.
5 years later and that has been my greatest lesson learned from my dad and our loss. Time stops for no one and relationships will be the only thing we can bring into eternity so make every moment count by investing your time into building relationships.
5 years later and that has been my greatest lesson learned from my dad and our loss. Time stops for no one and relationships will be the only thing we can bring into eternity so make every moment count by investing your time into building relationships.
When I take my last breath, like my dad did, and his final words to me were reaffirming how much he loved me...I want to know I spent my time wisely doing all the things that mattered most by loving and pouring into the lives around me all the while sharing who God was in the time given to me.
So, if you see me on or around February 8th, please understand this time of year I become reflective and may tear up a bit about the time my dad invested into my life and everyone else around me and how his life profoundly impacted me. He choose to spend his time wisely in relationships all around and I chose to follow in his footsteps all the days of my life, too.
Thanks, dad, for showing me that people and relationships matter most. I miss you and I love you. See you when I get home.
Amy Elizabeth
