You ignored me
You gave me away
You sold me
I fell off a cliff
We got beat up…
The time that this son has spent with his estranged father
hasn’t quite been an enriching experience.
Yet, when Max (the 11 year old son) is asked from his father (Charlie) “what
does he want from him”…Max says simply….I want you to fight for me.
As the story went, the father did end up fighting for the
son both emotionally and physically. The father’s act of bravery brought tears
to his son eyes and Max was finally able to see him in a positive light, as a
man that he could be proud of.
Our litany of screw ups as parents may not be as severe as
Max’s father’s was, however, if we look back over our years of parenting we can
certainly come across a laundry list of things that we wish we could
re-do. But out of all of the things we
failed at…what our children really want from us are the simple things. They know we have other things on our plates, but they want us to value them and fight for time and memory making events with them.
I know you wanted to be able to take them on a cruise, but a
fishing trip at the local river would be ok with them. You are thinking bigger, better, more, more,
more…they are thinking…YOU. They just
want you. They want your time, your
attention, your ears, your laughter, your encouragement, your motivation, your
ideas, YOU.
Pray consistently for wisdom so you know how much time to
give, when to prioritize, what’s really important and what can wait. I have
seen a trip to the gas station singing in the car with my daughter turn into
just the connection time we needed. I know you are busy..I understand, my
schedule is massive. But I FIND time and
create time to spend with those that matter to me. Fight for your family and the ties that bind
it together…it’s not merely sacrifice-view it as an investment that yields eternal
rewards.
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