Parenting // Significant Others - Part 2
Quantity or Quality
—
I was recently put in a position where I had to make a choice between work and family. In my role at the church, I get to be involved in many different things — one of them is planning and producing videos. On this particular occasion, our team was producing a video that required filming on a Sunday, after church. Since it’s part of my job responsibilities, I felt an obligation to stay for the shoot, but I had a dilemma: my daughter was in the middle of her first season of playing basketball, and she had a game scheduled at the same time. Technically, we only needed a couple of people to accomplish the shoot, and I was confident that the team could do the project without me. On the other hand, I knew my daughter had plenty of basketball games remaining that I would be able to see. So would missing this one game to ensure I was doing my job well be that big of a deal?
This past Sunday, Josh Rhodes discussed how our children are a gift from God and that we need to enjoy them by spending time with them… not just quality time, but with a quantity of time.
I don’t know about you, but in my house, life is crazy. We have our jobs, our responsibilities, our overwhelming schedules. Our busy lives can push us away from spending time with our kids. In the end, our view of quality time can be giving our kids attention only on the weekends, on vacations, or when it’s convenient for us. But if we do this, we can miss so many opportunities to connect with them and truly enjoy them.
James 4:14 says this:
You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring–what your life will be!
For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.
It’s a scary verse, I know, but it’s something I’m trying to remind myself of. It’s easy for me to tell my kids, “We will do it tomorrow or next week.” The reality is, though, that I can’t promise tomorrow. But I know that I have TODAY, so how can I use it with my kids?
Back to that decision I had to make... Did I choose my job or my family? It would be a real bummer if I chose the job, right? I ended up going to my daughter’s game, and I’m so glad I did, because at that game, she made her first-ever basket. As soon as she scored, she looked over at the bleachers towards her parents with the biggest smile on her face. That is a moment that I will always remember, and I’m so glad I didn’t miss it.
Whether it’s for your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or anyone else that’s important in your life… We can’t guarantee tomorrow, so let’s do our best to focus on the quantity, because that’s what will produce the quality.
Quantity or Quality
—
I was recently put in a position where I had to make a choice between work and family. In my role at the church, I get to be involved in many different things — one of them is planning and producing videos. On this particular occasion, our team was producing a video that required filming on a Sunday, after church. Since it’s part of my job responsibilities, I felt an obligation to stay for the shoot, but I had a dilemma: my daughter was in the middle of her first season of playing basketball, and she had a game scheduled at the same time. Technically, we only needed a couple of people to accomplish the shoot, and I was confident that the team could do the project without me. On the other hand, I knew my daughter had plenty of basketball games remaining that I would be able to see. So would missing this one game to ensure I was doing my job well be that big of a deal?
This past Sunday, Josh Rhodes discussed how our children are a gift from God and that we need to enjoy them by spending time with them… not just quality time, but with a quantity of time.
I don’t know about you, but in my house, life is crazy. We have our jobs, our responsibilities, our overwhelming schedules. Our busy lives can push us away from spending time with our kids. In the end, our view of quality time can be giving our kids attention only on the weekends, on vacations, or when it’s convenient for us. But if we do this, we can miss so many opportunities to connect with them and truly enjoy them.
James 4:14 says this:
You don’t even know what tomorrow will bring–what your life will be!
For you are like smoke that appears for a little while, then vanishes.
It’s a scary verse, I know, but it’s something I’m trying to remind myself of. It’s easy for me to tell my kids, “We will do it tomorrow or next week.” The reality is, though, that I can’t promise tomorrow. But I know that I have TODAY, so how can I use it with my kids?
Back to that decision I had to make... Did I choose my job or my family? It would be a real bummer if I chose the job, right? I ended up going to my daughter’s game, and I’m so glad I did, because at that game, she made her first-ever basket. As soon as she scored, she looked over at the bleachers towards her parents with the biggest smile on her face. That is a moment that I will always remember, and I’m so glad I didn’t miss it.
Whether it’s for your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or anyone else that’s important in your life… We can’t guarantee tomorrow, so let’s do our best to focus on the quantity, because that’s what will produce the quality.
Author: Adam Etris, Programming Director
Posted in Devotional
Posted in parenting, parent, quality time, James 4:14, Significant Others, devotional
Posted in parenting, parent, quality time, James 4:14, Significant Others, devotional
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