A Challenge for a Life-Time

There is a passage in Steve Covey’s book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” that hit home for me. 

Covey wrote, “I value my children. I love them, I want to help them. I value my role as their father. But I don’t always see those values. I get caught up in the ‘thick of thin things.’ What matters most gets buried under layers of pressing problems, immediate concerns, and outward behaviors. I become reactive. And the way I interact with my children every day often bears little resemblance to the way I deeply feel about them.”

Today I invite you to think again about the people you love in your own life. Reflect on how you feel about them. How can you keep from getting caught up in the “thick of thin things?” How might you interact with them in a way that bears a deep resemblance to the way you feel about them? That is a real challenge for me. Perhaps it is also a challenge for you – a challenge for today, and for a lifetime.

Let us pray: Loving and Gracious God, we want to live in light of your love and grace, and we want to live in light of our deepest values. Show us concrete ways that we can demonstrate our love to those closest to us. Help us make time for them. Grant us patience and forgiveness and listening ears. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.