40 Posts in 40 Days | Day 16

What Matters Most
Originally Written September 1, 2009
Today I read Luke 1-4

Point to Ponder:

• Life is all about love.
  

Question to Consider:

• Honestly, are relationships the top priority in my life? How could I insure that they are?
  

I like to think that relationships are the top priority in my life. Then again, there are a lot of things I like to think. That doesn't necessarily make them true now, does it?

I definitely get distracted by all the ephemeral "stuff" and let myself get pulled away from my family and friends.

Work gets in the way, that's for certain. It's less so now that I'm at the law firm than when I was in retail, at least. Still, though, I find myself getting wrapped up from time to time in day-to-day things that are honestly about as far from eternal as it gets.

That's actually a very profound passage in Pastor Warren's text that I hope stays with me for a very long time - how we love people determines how we are remembered. Love is the only way to build a legacy. For some reason, I'd never thought about it in those terms. It's one of those things that seems so obvious now, but it honestly never dawned on me until I read it that all the time I've wasted trying to hand-craft a legacy - write a thesis, write an article, write a book - all those things might be worthy endeavors, but they're not the route to go to actually leave behind something that lasts. What if I'd taken the time I spent spinning my wheels in grad school and instead spent time getting to know my grandparents better? Which of those would have been a better use of my time? What if I'd put the time I spent (nearly wrote "wasted," but that would be true because of the friendships that came of it) at the bookstore investing in my marriage?

But, as disheartening as it is/was to realize all these things, I'm glad I figured it out now rather than later. Plus, (I'm determined to end this on a positive note, and my space is dwindling!) I see ways just in the past few weeks and months that my priorities are shifting for the better. I'm giving more of my time to my LG and to Quest. At home, we're finding more ways to make time for ourselves as a family. Through my LG and Quest, I'm even back to having "friends!" Novelty! Gotta go, there are people I need to love!

Verse of the Day

"The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
--Galatians 5:14