I’m one of those people who likes to reflect. I guess you could say I’m a reflector. I’ve realized that there are both good and bad parts of being a reflector. The bad part is that sometimes I tend to dwell on or over-think situations and I can wind up making myself crazy. The good part is that I savor the pleasant memories in my life.
Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect. This year I decided to take reflection to the next level and reflect on Thanksgiving, the season of reflection. Are you lost? What I mean is that I decided to ask the kids to tell me their favorite memories of our most recent Thanksgiving so that we could savor them together.
My daughter surprised me by saying that there were two memories that stuck out from the weekend. The first memory was when her college-age cousin Brett took her out for ice cream at McDonald’s. The second memory was when her dad took her rock climbing at our local community center.
I have to admit it hurt my pride a little that neither one of her favorite Thanksgiving memories included me. As I reflected, though, I realized what a great blessing it is for my daughter to have two Christian males in her life who want to spend time with her. My initial selfish thoughts gave way to gratefulness.
One of the most valuable blessings in a girl’s life is to have positive male influences. This Thanksgiving, my daughter was blessed with two men who cared about her and wanted to spend time getting to know her better. These two men went out of their way to make her feel special.
Jesus told us that the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. The second commandment is a similar one: love your neighbor as yourself. When my husband and my nephew spent time with my daughter, they were loving their neighbor as themselves. They were investing in a little girl’s life. They were putting the words of Scripture into practice.
As a mom, knowing that my daughter has men she can look up to is one of the greatest blessings I could ask for her. As I reflect on Thanksgiving, this is one of my greatest memories, and it doesn’t even include me!
Scripture: Matthew 22:34-46
Prayer: Lord, I want to love You with all my heart, soul and mind. I want to spend time with You every day and lean on You during the good times and bad. Thank you that I can have a relationship with You. Please show me what it means (for me, in my everyday life) to love my neighbor as myself. I want to love others with a love that comes from You. Please open my eyes to the needs of others around me and show me tangible ways to love them.
How true is that about little girls needing nice Christian Men in their lives! Although I didn't have that with my father I luckily had other Christian men in my life who did take the time while I was growing up. I am so grateful for Ava to have that male Christian relationship with her father because that is so important. Ava just eats up that special time she has with her Daddy which puts a smile on my face! Father daughter tea party's are so stinkin cute! Thanks, Jill
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