You Can Do It Tomorrow

As usual, I have put off writing the Tidings article until the latest possible moment.  It was on my “to do

list” all weekend.  It just kept getting bumped by other activities.  Between keeping up with my reading list and fulfilling my duties of “Daddy Day,” Friday was more than full.  Saturday I had to work in the yard for several hours—a task that I had put off even longer than the Tidings article.  Sunday was another full day—a great day of worship and fellowship at Bethany-Peace.  Jordan was home for Spring Break and we needed to get caught up.  So, we spent the whole afternoon in the back yard just relaxing, playing and enjoying family time and a “Sabbath Rest.”  And when it comes to Sabbath Rest, Jordan is the man! 

Evening had come and I realized I had run out of opportunity to write the article.  I was sitting with Katy while she ate her bedtime snack with my elbows on the table, my head barely held up by my tired hands.  Then the question came, “What are you thinking about, Daddy?”

“Well, I am thinking about a job I was supposed to do this weekend and I didn’t get it done.”

Katy smiled and used one of her mom’s lines on me, “Well, you can do that tomorrow.”

Once again, the wisdom of innocence spoke loudly and clearly.  In my focusing on the “half empty” picture of my weekend I was missing what had been accomplished.  I had experienced rejuvenation and fulfillment in so many ways.  Yet, because of my being task driven, I was devaluing a very important part of my life.  Family, play and Sabbath Rest would all be things I would advocate, but in practice it takes reminders for me to place as much value on these things as I place on work. 

I could analyze myself and why this is my propensity, but it may be more productive to just stand in Katy’s correction.  Maybe you need to hear it too.  Maybe you need to hear your pastor who is endlessly talking about service and ministry say a word for play and rest.  Maybe in the midst of caring for others we all need to be reminded of the significance of caring for ourselves.  Maybe we need to remember that Sunday afternoons in the back yard playing, swinging and laughing are important things too.

I know the level of commitment the members of Bethany-Peace have to the life and work of our congregation.  So, it is without hesitation that I encourage you to keep a balance in life.  Jordan will be home for only this week.  Time is ticking and Katy will begin Kindergarten in the fall, ending our “Daddy Days” we have taken for granted.  There will be a lot of “tomorrows” to get the work done.  What better way to have used God’s gift of time than nurturing relationships and myself.