My favorite place

Do you ever have those days where you wish you could just get away from it all and go to your favorite place? Does the lure of a beach, your favorite chair at the library, or your parents' back yard call to you from the back of your mind? Maybe you are taking the time to remember last year's family vacation and how much fun you all had relaxing and listening to the waves lap at the shore.


While there can be value found in using these memories to help inspire or encourage us during difficult or stressful times, we need to watch ourselves carefully to make sure they don't consume us. If we are always looking forward to the next vacation, next weekend, next event on our calendar, we often miss the life happening all around us. 


We want our children to grow up with good memories of family time spent together doing a variety of different things. But we also want them to have memories of quiet times at home, good conversations, and the knowledge that we were here when they needed to talk to us. We want to show them our love through time spent with them.


If I spend all my time focused on the future "maybes" I will miss the daily chances to invest in our girls' lives. I will miss the silly stories they want to share with me of playing games with their Daddy with stuffed animals. I might miss the opportunity to have a lasting discussion about life choices, like choosing a profession, a spouse, or a personal relationship with Jesus. 


I pray that I will learn how to balance my responsibilities both inside and out of the house so that I can choose to live in this moment of this day. I want my favorite place to be right where God has planted me.