Will You Be Busy?

Last Friday I spent the morning at Rainy's preschool enjoying "Donuts with Dad." I'm amazed at how fast my little princess is growing up. And I'm reminded almost daily at how quickly our time on this earth passes--that I am just a vapor. My prayer lately has echoed the Psalmist, "Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how frail I am." (Psalm 39:4). I want every moment of my life to count for His kingdom. I want to redeem the time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16). I want to spend quality time with my kids and I want them to know that I love them and care about them. And when I'm spending time with them, I want them to know that I am all theirs during that time. That mentally I am not somewhere else thinking about the list of things I need to get done.

Yesterday I had lunch with a Pastor friend whom I greatly respect. He told me that he took his family of 6 camping a few weeks ago. When they arrived at the campsite, his oldest son asked him, "Dad, are you going to be busy this weekend?" In other words, "Are you bringing work with you, or will you be here both physically and mentally?" He told me that in that moment he turned his phone off and never turned it back on the entire weekend.

And why shouldn't we live that way? Because our time is short. Our families are our number one priority--not ministry. And they need us. They need us dads to be there for them both physically and mentally. So, dads, are you with me?