reflections

This week has been one of those times that I feel will be a memory discussed and referred to over and over in our family discussions in the future.

To get away from a regular routine where you can rest and reflect is invaluable.  There simply is no way to place a value on it.  It lives on in who we are and what we become. 

Sounds dramatic huh?  I think it’s proof of how badly our entire family was in need of time away together and this week we got it.

We have laughed until our sides hurt, cried -  reflecting back over lost family members and times we miss.  The full gamut of emotion.

I have had people admire my family in the past based on how well we get along and how much we can’t wait to see one another each week, but that doesn’t just happen.  It requires time away from regular and intentional planning.

This week has become priceless in my mind.  As I sit watching the waves and all the amazing reflections that bounce off the water, I reflect too, and I praise Almighty God for His mercy toward our family and for parents who are deeply in love with Him. 

We have faced serious illness together, worked our way through wayward family members and prayed for years for others, so we haven’t had a smooth perfect path.  But with God’s help we always reach the other side of bad.  Always.

Does the other side always produce the result we were hoping and praying for – of course not!  God promises He’ll answer our prayers, not that He’ll answer them based on our desires.  He can see WAY beyond us, and knows how all the humanity pieces need to fall to create the perfect, completed life puzzle.  A puzzle that connects our actions and mistakes and accomplishments to everyone else who has ever lived and loved God.

my amazing parents

Our time together ends tomorrow, I could let that make me deeply sad, but I won’t.  Instead I’ll cherish this blessed memory and let it support me through the ridiculously busy remainder of July.  And I will plan immediately for the next time we can all be together.

I have seen a lot of reflections while here.  Beautuiful reflections of sunsets playfully bouncing off the waves.  The reflection of parents building God into the lives of their children.  And I have experienced quiet reflection like I am experiencing right now.  The kind that dares to look deeply into the soul and deal with what lies hidden there.  The kind that dares to ask God to reveal.  The kind that longs for Him to be reflected when people look.

True rest and intentional separation from regular routine = memories…

especially if you have a dad like mine who is brimming full or memorable one-lines that reduce even the most serious among us to fits of uncontrolled ugly laughter!!