There are two memories with my father that will never fade from my memory. I was and am blessed with a great father who loves me well. But, it is interesting the moments that play back in the screen play of our memories. The long lost phenomenon of the hacky sack was at a peak during my childhood. I had a handful of them around the house. I remember like it was yesterday sitting in our living room while watching one of our favorite television shows (probably The Dukes of Hazard) tossing the hacky sack back and forth. We would sit across the room from each other and and toss it back and forth… It was so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Yet it honestly meant so much to me. I really enjoyed just being present with him.
Late in the evening as my dreaded bedtime approached, we would sit on the couch together. It is a bit hard to explain but he would sit on the couch with his legs extended in way that created this little nook where I could curl up next to him. Sure, I was doing anything I could to avoid my bedtime, but memories of just sitting there with my father are engraved into my mind as small moments which meant the world to me.
I think often times we dismiss the small moments
Just last night I was sitting on the couch and my son was curled up in my lap. He pulled a blanket up around him and folded himself up like a stuffed animal in my arms. We were watching a Spring Training baseball game together and laughing at they way the umpire would jump up and throw his fist in the air to call a strike. Lori and our daughters were jumping around the room with their own imitations of the umpire calling strikes (honestly it was only the girls jumping around the room… Lori wasn’t jumping).
The big trips to the zoo or even Disney World are great investments in the family. But I think often times we dismiss the small moments… or neglect to seize them as we overemphasize our grand plans which might only happen a couple times each year. Sure, they will remember the big trips to the zoo, but the way they understand family will be forged in the everyday mundane activities in our homes.
Your child will never forget those small moments in the day as you eat together, play together, sit together, and laugh together. Don’t miss out on the greatness of being present in the moment with them.
Do you have any memories of your childhood that play back in your mind that aren’t the big family vacations but were just the joys of everyday life? How are you seizing these moments with the family in which God has blessed you?
Matt Powell serves as teaching pastor at Crossings Community Church, a body of believers whose mission is to engage, equip, and empower homes for gospel transformation in Katy, TX.