Thoughts on life, leadership and the movement called the church by Brian C. Hughes, Senior Pastor

by Brian C. Hughes, Senior Pastor

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Treat Your Kids Like They Are Special

In the fall, I was going to lunch with my 8 year old son every month. He treated these 'dates' with great anticipation. (I blogged about it way back then.) But we missed a month and never picked it up again.

When I played in the PCC golf tournament, a very good friend played on my team. He asked me, "So, are you and Joshua still going to lunch once a month?" I hemmed and hawed, gave him some lame excuse that anyone could see through, and changed the subject. My friend was gracious, but a few days later, he sent me an email. He said he hoped he wasn't being too forward, but that those lunches were important and he hoped I'd make time for one again soon.

That's what good friends do: they make us better parents, better husbands and wives, better followers of Christ.

So, this morning, I got up and got ready for another impossibly overloaded day. And out of the blue, Joshua said, "Dad, guess what!? Today, we're having a pizza party to celebrate how much everyone in the class read this year. Can you come?"

My immediate thought was, 'no way'. I thought about my calendar, my important meetings, my inbox, my unreturned calls, my to do list.

And then I thought about my friend - the one who gently nudged me to choose my family. And I decided to cheat the church today.

"You bet, Joshua. I'll be there."

And I was.

3 comments:

Beth said...

Proud of you. Good choice. Thanks for setting a good example.

IllBeApples said...

Wise choice.

Anonymous said...

Taking care of your family, to me, should never be seen as cheating the church. Time spent with family is just as important as time spent with church. Your kids need you as much as we do!