I love my children with all my heart but, at times, I have a hard time simply “being present.”  I’m not necessarily referring to my actual physical presence being in the room with them.  I’m referring to being present emotionally and in other ways.  Life is crazy.  My wife and I both work jobs that require a lot of us.  Many times we come home and run through the “to-do” list that includes packing lunches for the next day, preparing and serving supper, cleaning up the dishes, washing clothes, bathing the kids, feeding the dog…the list goes on and on.  When there’s finally a break in the action I can always be found in my comfy recliner with a pillow behind my head and my cell phone or iPad in my hands.  By that point, my goal is to stay in that spot until it is necessary for me to move.  A few nights ago my daughter came over and climbed her ever-growing long-legged self in my lap.  I got her situated and comfortable and went back to playing my game.  A short while later it was time for her to brush her teeth and head to bed.  It wasn’t until an hour later that I realized I had not said one single word to her in that 30-minute period of time.  I was there, but I wasn’t there.  Rather than turn my attention to my living, breathing daughter, I kept myself immersed in a pretend world.  My daughter isn’t always the cuddling type so when she initiated climbing in my lap I should have turned my attention to her.  But I didn’t.  When I realized my response I was overcome with a terrible feeling of guilt.

When did other things become my priority?  When did moving to the next level on my game become the most important thing?  I could place those games to the side and come back in two or three months and, chances are, nothing will have changed.  Yet, my daughter is growing up before my eyes and will be leaving my house for college in ten years.  Sure, ten years seems like a long time but we all know it flies by in an instant.  The simple fact that she’s nearing the age of ten and it seems she was just born a few months ago is a gleaming example of that fact.  Talk about a reality check.  Proverbs 22:6 instructs us to, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”  Literally, in that moment, I was teaching my daughter it’s okay to ignore my (future) grandchildren.  My actions taught her it’s okay for other things to take priority over her family.  Everything I do now will affect my grandchildren, great-grands, and so forth.  What if God treated me in this manner?  How would I feel if I went to God in prayer, pouring out my heart, and He responded, “Hold on a minute, Brian.  I’ve got Sally on the other line and her problems are more important that yours!”  Devastated.  That’s how I would feel.  Devastated.

Closing remarks and encouragement:  Choose to be present in every way.  You can be assured I won’t be found on my deathbed wishing I’d made it to the next level of Candy Crush.  I encourage you not to assume your children/grandchildren expect you to be perfect.  You’ll never achieve such.  Just be there.  The same can be said of our time with our Heavenly Father.  We must stop treating our relationship like a Friday night fling, only going to Him when we want something.  Be purposeful and choose to be present.