Every day we are faced with choices-opportunities for us to either make decisions that will benefit ourselves and others and glorify God, or ones that we will later deeply regret.
A couple months ago, I was faced with just such a choice. Dinner and the dishes were completed and taken care of. All that was left was the folding and putting away of the freshly cleaned towels, after which I planned to call a dear friend of mine from church. I was just about finished with the folding and was preparing to put the laundry away when in came my brother, Andrew, asking if I would help him put together his train track. I was very surprised to receive this request. When was the last time he had asked me something like this? I was immediately convicted. I realized then and there that I obviously had not been spending the time that I should have with him. I would not have been so shocked by such a request from him had I regularly been there for him, helping him and spending value time with him.
Nevertheless, I'm ashamed to say that the selfish part of me did emerge-the part of me that wanted to do what I wanted when I had planned to do it. Thankfully, the Lord gave me the strength needed to resist the temptation to tell Andrew that I'd help him later. The truth was, helping my dear brother, who, in the blink of an eye, may not be all that interested in toy trains, was far more important than calling my dear friend that evening.
Do you know what I discovered through my obedience to Christ? I had been missing out on quite a lot of fun with my little brother! Andrew and I laughed and laughed.....and laughed some more as we attempted to put the track and train together and again when the train entertained us greatly with its antics of coming apart after it went around the track a couple times. Needless to say, we shared many laughs and a special brother sister moment that night that will never be forgotten. One thing's for sure-we never know what tomorrow may bring, but whatever it does bring, we will always have those special memories.
What would have happened, though, if I had not made the God-honoring choice that evening? I would have lost out on one of the most precious moments of my life. I would have lived with the guilt that pushing my brother away when he reached out to me for help would have brought me. Andrew will only be at this age for so long and one day in the not too far distant future he and I will likely be living in separate homes, caring for families of our own.
So, what about you? The ball's now in your court and there's a question you must ask yourself. Will you make the right choice today, or will you live with the remorse that bad decisions will leave you? Will you take that little sibling of yours by the hand and spend valuable time with him or her? Perhaps your situation is different. Perhaps you are the younger sibling. Will you reach out to that big brother or sister of yours? You won't regret it if you do! But you may very well regret it if you choose not to spend time making sweet memories with them. I think we too often put our friends ahead of our family. Friends are no doubt important, but God has blessed you with the family he's put you into and it's up to you to love them, encourage and support them, and build them up!
The choice is yours today. What will you decide?
*above photo of Andrew and I, Christmas morning 2007
Awww, what a sweet picture!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right,Bekah, we really do need to spend more time with our siblings. Having an older brother, a younger borther, and two little sisters, I know how important the siblings relationships are. Mama tells me often that they should come before any of my other friends, because the Lord has placed them so close to me for a reason and I need to see that they are able to look at me as a role model, depend on me, trust me, and know that I will always be there for them!
~Haleigh