You Only Live Once

Happy Grandparent's Day!  This is a picture of my mom's mom (my grandma, my kids' great-grandma).  Unfortunately, this is only the second time my kids have seen her...and hopefully will not be the last. 

As I started thinking about the past 3 weeks or so, a reoccuring theme kept going through my mind:  the value of life.  While visiting my grandmother in the small town she lives in (and at the retirement home she lives at), I felt strangely serene and relaxed.  I almost never feel that way, being that I am a pretty high-strung person and happen to have twin toddlers I am around 24/7.  AND, I did not have Kip around to help while I was there.  For once though, I realized that I did not have a lot of responsibilities (ie-cleaning my house for guests to come over, making it on time to meetings or playdates or workout sessions, overbooking our schedule with promises and commitments that were good yet stressed me out).  I focused only on relationships-talking with my mom or grandma, visiting and laughing with other residents in the retirement home, sitting with nothing to do (gasp!) but watch my children play and entertain, and making sure we visited the horses and deer everyday.  I don't know if it was the small town atmosphere that I miss the most or the feeling of a life not surrounded by tv, internet, shopping, and heavy traffic.  All I know is that that was one of the most relaxing weeks I have ever had in my life as an adult.  As my children sat on the laps of my mother and grandmother while they raced around on scooters (yes, like the ones from the Scooter store), I had an epiphany.  THIS is what the value of life was all about: family, enjoying moments, and making a difference in someone else's life.  You see, two days before Asher and Abby were born, my grandfather passed away.  This past week would have been his birthday.  All of my memories with my grandparents involved special moments.  They were as simple as sitting on the dock watching my grandfather fish to waterskiing and playing pictionary (and winning, of course ;)....my grandmother and I were a ruthless powerhouse pair). 

What is important in your life?  I have come to realize that none of the memories I have made that hold a special place in my heart have anything to do with material objects.  They all have to do with RELATIONSHIPS.  Life is meant to be enjoyed...but it is best enjoyed with others.  Make friends and keep in contact with them (hello, Facebook makes it so easy to do this!), get to know someone new (I just met two new friends this past week-while getting a pedicure and while playing at the park), invest in the lives of others (my father's neighbor puts everyone's newspapers right by their door every morning-so thoughtful and very simple to do), and take time to laugh and live (races on scooters, singing and dancing to silly songs with your kids, doing something adventurous you've never done before-skydiving???).

Where are your shoes going to take you?  What shoes have you worn?  What will you make of the moments you are given?

Micah 6:8 ESV    

"He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"