40 Days of Seeking Him 2011 ~ Day 19

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Another one of the points I mentioned in my post on Monday was the need to be present in our family. 

It is so easy to get busy and spend more time running from here to there with little time spent together as a family.  Commercials joke about family’s not knowing what a real dinner is.  Although, I’d argue that the dump and heat meals those commercials are promoting are not a ‘real’ dinner either. 

Our family would be considered an oddity by many as it is the rare day when we do not gather around the dinner table for our evening meal.  This is possible, for the most part, because we do not have the boys signed up for tons of activities.  However, there have been nights when we gather together long enough to eat before heading out the door for something on our schedule. 

I am so thankful that we are taking the time to make family life a priority.  It might not quite compare to nostalgic images by Rockwell.  We are far from perfect, either as individuals or as a family unit.  But, we are constantly striving to live the life God calls us to live.

This whole theme of presence was on my mind when driving down the road this evening.  P had put the radio onto a station which plays a wide variety of music and the song Cat’s in the Cradle began to play. 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH46SmVv8SU]

I’ve always loved that song and find it moving to think about how a boy grows into a man just like his father.  However, it also illustrates how easily we can get busy and put off important aspects of life…time with our family…to meet other obligations.  

I pray that our family never gets to the point of missing those opportunities to spending time together.