Quality time around the table, or in the car, or wherever you find it...

I had one week with my two oldest daughters home before they left to stay with my brother for the summer.  They have been blessed with a great place to live each summer, and a great job to return to. I'm very happy about this, even though I miss them like crazy.  While they were here we packed in some quality conversations, bike rides, back yard grill outs with friends, and a couple of track meets. Who doesn't love days of watching track?  Madie got to give her sister some coaching tips, and Eden returned the favor with a personal best in the long jump and the 200m.  It did Madie's track heart a lot of good.  We followed that with a road trip to Boise to watch Bronster in her state track meet.  She struggled with her jumps in very rainy weather, but her relay teams performed well getting 5th in the medley and 2nd in the 4x100m.  We got to do a lot of talking and reading and I am very grateful for the few days I had with them.

Quality time is a tough thing when you are an introvert with nine children and a husband that all want a piece of your day.  I try to be efficient about it, but God really is not a fan of efficiency.  He seems to be the God of wandering, sitting by wells, random conversations, odd dreams, and pretty much being willing to meet Him wherever He finds you.  Brook and I had a great conversation on our bikes.  Bronwyn and I had a few minutes in the car on the way to work that were an encouragement to me, that God does indeed work through athletics.

I had a very profitable dinner conversation last night.  Rick has been traveling for work, and our evening schedule involves many trips around our small town in my big van with kids hoping in and jumping out, sometimes without me realizing exactly who is riding along and who is going to end up at our table.  We did somehow squeeze in a sit down conversation, but the audience was not what I had planned.  A friend had given me a game called ungame.  I had decided to try it out at dinner.  I wasn't sure it was a great plan once we all finally sat down, but I gave it a go anyway.  The game has cards with random questions that stimulate more personal sharing.  The conversation ended up with us discussing a situation that I had been praying about for a couple of weeks.  It wasn't contrived at all, it just happened.  It was a great "experiencing God" moment for me, but may have slipped right past my kids.  I hope not, but I'm going to hang on to it in case I need to remind them someday.

I'm trying to keep God's presence in the front of my mind.  It is easy for me to get into my efficiency mode and let God slide to the back.  I know what I need to do, and I head off to do it.  I am trying to understand rest better.  Resting in God and His all sufficient will.  There are things that don't need to get done in my life.  There are people that I need to slow down for and focus on.  I need to put relationships first which is time consuming.  Who does God need me to listen to?  How do I slow my brain down so that I can hear the still small voices, and see the people on the margin?  I can read my Bible faithfully every morning, and say my prayers, and then launch into my day without giving God a whole lot more thought until I drop into bed.  I don't think that pleases Him.  I need to accept His interruptions as moments to experience Him in my life.

Making my time quality time is going to require me to surrender it all to God.  Keeping back my few minutes of watching dumb TV shows, because I failed to rest in God during the day is lame.  Stopping to answer the phone so that I can listen to a friend is important.  Those friends are Jesus living in front of me.  Letting my friend stay with me this weekend at the track meet was a huge blessing.  We got to read, cry, eat, cheer, laugh, pray, drive with white knuckles together which is how deep friendships happen.  My friends are also a treasure to my children.  They have invested quality time in my children as well.  Sometimes that quality time is painful.  Sitting with friends while they grieve isn't fun, but it is good.  Sometimes carving out dinner time in the midst of meetings and sports can be a huge chore, but I'm telling you it is worth it.  We have some great talks around our table, random and occasionally crude talks, but that is what life is made of.  If I keep my expectations low and allow God to move among us, He meets us over our tacos.  Life is crazy busy, but I don't want any more of the crazies to leave.  It may get quieter someday, and I know I will miss every blurted comment made with a mouth full of food.  I will miss being interrupted by a question that was answered four times in the previous ten minutes.  I will miss my people sitting around my table just being there.

Today I am thankful for the kids who do make it home for dinner.  I am thankful for crock pots that allow me to cook and drive all at the same time.  I'm thankful for friends who share rides.  I'm thankful for kids who stop by just in time to eat, again.  I'm thankful for pigs.  I'm thankful for 4H.  I'm thankful for friends who parent graciously right along with me.