Sunday, July 12, 2009
Eventful Investing
11:22 AM | Posted by
Anonymous
Activities and events fill the squares of the calendar. Somewhere to go, and something to do...everyday. Often the motion only stops for brief stints at home to grab sustenance to keep us moving. Three weeks continue that way. Up early. Going hard. Asleep late.
Tomorrow promises to be a "blank" day, but my body wants to succumb to its fatigue...today. Now. Unfortunately, two things stand between me and my coveted bed: church and fireworks.
Church...necessary. Fireworks...negotiable...except they aren't.
Our family makes it a yearly jaunt to gather with hundreds or thousands of people, sit in lawn chairs, eat snacks, and stare upward into an inky black sky that explodes with the wonder of color and light. The children who used to find this terrifying now find it amazing, and we believe in feeding amazement.
But does it have to be fed this way...this year? One look at those faces answers me...yes. This year. Tonight. Now.
So after church we load up the van with lawn chairs, snacks, and family and head to a watching spot...and we watch. The children watch the fireworks. I watch the children. The smiles on their lips. The twinkle in their eyes. The contentment in their faces and body language.
Fireworks scribbled on the calendar as an event, but I know it is more. It is an investment. An investment into the lives of the young people God is growing in our home...into the lives of the children they will grow in theirs. It is not something we do, but something we speak. "You are worth the effort. You are valuable. You are my priority. I love you. I love to be with you. I may get tired, but not of you."
We return home, minds filled with fireworks, hearts filled with words unspoken, value deposited deeply...in silece...in actions that could have been dimissed as just another event. Instead, growing children chatter. Excitement flows into our living room with us. Faces glow, not with fireworks but with the warmth of being treasured.
Such is the return of purposed eventful investing.
Copyright Jerri Phillips 2009
Tomorrow promises to be a "blank" day, but my body wants to succumb to its fatigue...today. Now. Unfortunately, two things stand between me and my coveted bed: church and fireworks.
Church...necessary. Fireworks...negotiable...except they aren't.
Our family makes it a yearly jaunt to gather with hundreds or thousands of people, sit in lawn chairs, eat snacks, and stare upward into an inky black sky that explodes with the wonder of color and light. The children who used to find this terrifying now find it amazing, and we believe in feeding amazement.
But does it have to be fed this way...this year? One look at those faces answers me...yes. This year. Tonight. Now.
So after church we load up the van with lawn chairs, snacks, and family and head to a watching spot...and we watch. The children watch the fireworks. I watch the children. The smiles on their lips. The twinkle in their eyes. The contentment in their faces and body language.
Fireworks scribbled on the calendar as an event, but I know it is more. It is an investment. An investment into the lives of the young people God is growing in our home...into the lives of the children they will grow in theirs. It is not something we do, but something we speak. "You are worth the effort. You are valuable. You are my priority. I love you. I love to be with you. I may get tired, but not of you."
We return home, minds filled with fireworks, hearts filled with words unspoken, value deposited deeply...in silece...in actions that could have been dimissed as just another event. Instead, growing children chatter. Excitement flows into our living room with us. Faces glow, not with fireworks but with the warmth of being treasured.
Such is the return of purposed eventful investing.
Copyright Jerri Phillips 2009
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2 comments:
Good one. True.
Love this ... love you, too!
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