Time to Make Time for Our Loved Ones

Do you ever wonder where time has gone? I know I do.

We often wish we could recapture moments. Time spent with loved ones, time lost because we were too busy chasing other things or plain thought we had time to spare. Before we realized it whoosh time had gone!

Good Intentions

Time really does march on whether we are ready or not.

How often do we wonder where the day has gone. Gone before our eyes. Gone in a blink.

Our intentions were…to call Mom and Dad; but the day got away.

Our intentions were…to take the kids to the pool; but work came first. Again!

Our intentions were good…when we suggested going to dinner with a friend; but we didn’t get back with them.

Having good intentions is a wonderful start but unless we follow through its not going to happen (preaching to myself here).

A Gift of Presence

Once a week my parents and I chat on the phone. We have a set day and time. This way I can plan to be home as it’s day hours here (USA) and late evening for them (UK); we use a landline for international calls as it’s cheaper than cell (mobile) phone hence my need to be home.

Although I chat with my parents on a weekly basis I only get to visit them every two to three years. Each time I visit my parents I notice the physical changes in them. Changes I would not fully realize by merely talking on the phone. On my last visit home (2016) to Wales for my father’s 90th birthday the changes hit me as he walk a long and twisting bridge from the train station to the bus stop.

He stooped over his cane as he walked, his once sprightly gait was now slow, but steady. I watched from a short distance away, he was determined the rising incline of the bridge was not going to win. Not that day, or any day soon.

The man I call dad, the man who use to carry me on his shoulders when I was a child. The man who worked double shifts down the coal mine to provide for his family now moved at a much slower pace.

His muscles are not what they once were when he mined for coal. His face a little thinner, his now grey hair though still plentiful was not as bushy as it use to be. Time had move on.

Riches and position were not something he ran after, rather he pursued, and continues to pursue the simpler pleasures of life. Time spent with family and friends. A gift of presence. The kind money can’t buy.

Lord, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them? They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow. Psalm 144: 3-4

A breath. A fleeting shadow. Whoosh…Gone!

Make that call. Take the kids to the pool. Go eat dinner with a friend. Time to make time for our loved ones, be fully present in their presence.

Live Radiant in Christ

Helena

P.S. Will be visiting my parents this year taking my soon to be seven year old grandson with me. Mam turns 90 and dad 93. My grandson last visited them when he was four. The memory that has stayed with him was his great-grandfather walking him to the candy store. He’s looking forward to walking up the street hand in hand with him to the candy store once again.

Photo Credit: Red Clock: Malvestida Magazine/ Unsplash

Photo Credit: Man walking on bridge: Helena Davies…that’s my dad folks.