Family Matters

 

I wish I knew then what I know now.  I’ve said that several times.  Being a parent is hard.  Being a husband is hard.  To think I thought it would just come naturally.  That somehow I would just know what to do when the time came.  I could not have been more wrong.  I have a 7, 5 and 3 month old and the challenges are different for each one as they each have different personalities and they are each at a different stage of life.  I have been married almost 10 years now and the challenges are different each day and they too differ with each stage of life.  I have learned several thing and I am learning several things when it comes to my family.

There is no such thing as balance.  I have to choose one or the other suffers.  I choose to pastor during the day.  I choose to be a husband and a parent at night. For me there has been no such thing as balance because something always comes up and I always think my wife and kids will understand.  The truth is, they don’t and to be honest they shouldn’t have to.  I do believe that if I have my priorities set, I won’t have to balance.  I sure wish they had a handbook on how to be a parent or a husband.  I have and continue to make so many mistakes and yet they continue to love me unconditionally.

The beautiful part is there is no picture of a perfect family in the Bible.  I believe that each of us are on a journey to do our best to love God and love our families.  To serve God and to serve our families.  No where in there did I say to love the church and to serve the church.  That will come naturally out of our love for God and for our families.  For me my priority must be my relationship with God and my relationship with family and my service to the church will be an overflow of those two things.  And maybe one day my kids will grow to love God and to love their families and serve in a church they love and not resent any of the above because their father lacked balance.