I was six years old and it was my first day at school. The photo captures me standing in front of my playhouse proudly holding my pink lunch-kit with a black poodle on the front. This was long before backpacks became a standard part of the school outfit. I’m smiling at the camera.
A precious moment. And a moment captured on film each first day of school for my sister and I, a moment I repeated with my sons through their twelve years of public school.
These moments we capture in a photo, and other moments which are held only in our memories, are precious because they can never be repeated in exactly the same way. It is only that image, captured digitally, photographically, or in our memory, that reminds us of all the wonder and emotion that was wrapped up in that one moment in time.
This year, sending our boys off to the third and fourth years of university, that moment came just before we left the house on Labor Day. I called for a family huddle, and we stood in the middle of the kitchen, arms around each other, savouring this last time we would all be together until Christmas. There was laughter, some questions, words of love and blessings from parents to sons, and then the dog decided to be part of it all, entered the circle and laid down so that he could touch all of our feet at once. With one final hug and “I love you” all around, the moment was done, and we were off. Yet the moment is etched in all of our minds – a precious, wondrous moment.
Sometimes I am too busy and too focussed on the task at hand that I forget to pay attention to those precious moments when wonder and love are right there before me. I forget to say, “Hello!” before asking someone to do something. I forget to notice the beauty of the sunrise in my speed to get to work. I forget to thank the clerk in the store when I am intent with getting on to my next errand for the day. I get so busy trying to get groceries bought, meals cooked, and household tasks done, that the day goes by and I haven’t hardly acknowledged my husband and sons, let alone spent time enjoying their company. I have missed the precious moments of the day.
Jesus once reminded his disciples to pay attention to the small and wondrous things around them: “Look at the birds in the air! Take a moment to notice the lilies growing in the fields.” And he added this advice, “Don’t worry about every day things – food and clothes. They will take care of themselves. Focus first on God, and all the rest will fall into line.” (adapted from Matthew 6:25-34)
Sometimes I’d like to argue with Jesus. I’d like to say to him, “Well, if I don’t worry about food for my family and doing the laundry so they have something to wear, then how exactly is that going to happen.” I can get so focussed on meeting the expectations I put on myself and the expectations that life seems to put on me, that I miss the precious moments. It happens sometimes, but….
here’s what I’ve learned along the way. If I take time to pray as I start my day, I don’t feel so frantic about everything. If I press pause on life and savour those precious moments, I have so much more love to offer. If I stop, take some deep breaths and open myself to God’s presence, I experience a reset and I can handle things. And, if I just let go of some of the things that I think I have to do and do perfectly, it seems to still all work out.
So, I invite you to join me in welcoming the wisdom of Jesus. Let’s press pause long enough on our to-do lists so that we can savour the wonder and delight of birds and flowers, children and sunrises, a good book and good food, and the glory of God’s loving presence in our lives. As Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these other things will work out.”
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