Thursday, May 5
I become very attached to people, places, and things. I've learned through the years that things will change and that I have to learn to change with them. Some relationships are flexible enough that they change and curve along with life. There are also some relationships that are specific to one time or another in our lives, and I've found that I'm okay with that. I understand that now.But I've been thinking a lot lately about commitment and what it means and how our commitments change and grow just like everything else in our lives. This particular phase in life is so full of commitments - to our families, both intimate and extended ... to our careers ... our friends ... our churches ... our communities ... our God. Do the same commitments we had five or 10 years ago still apply today? Will the ones we honor now still be valid in another decade?
A friend of ours who is a pastor in a neighboring community recently did a multi-week study on commitment in his church. I wish I could have heard his sermons, and I'm secretly hoping he'll post the text of them on his blog. He spoke about commitment to God, family, and church. I'm interested in a minister's perspective on those oh-so important devotions.
So many of us struggle - at least I know Mike and I do - with how to balance our time, how to get the most of what we have, how to make the most of our opportunities. I hear people talk about how people our age don't give enough to the church, about how we don't put enough of our time into being leaders in our churches. And sometimes I feel bad because we haven't done as much with church as we could have in the past years. But I also know that this time for Mike's dissertation is so important to his career that we couldn't ignore that need.
And I know that these years when our children are small are so rich in need. These are the times when we have the greatest impact on our children's lives and their souls, and that is such a deep commitment and responsibility that we have to take it with such grave solemnity.
And so I am torn, as I suspect are so many other women. There are so many worthy outlets for our time and energy and so many needs which God could use us to fill. I am quite certain that I don't have any of the answers. I'm glad, though, that God has given me traveling companions on this journey of faith and commitment and life. These companions who walk with me in my frailty and insecurity and who encourage me in my endeavors are such God-given gifts, and for them, I am deeply grateful.
[ posted by Chel on Thursday, May 05, 2005 ]
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