The Gift Of Time

The Gift of Time

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5

Recently, as I sat on an airplane, I glanced down the row and was met with the smiling faces of my husband and six dear friends—three other couples—all of us headed out for a celebration of big wedding anniversaries. We were celebrating twenty years, fifteen years, almost fifteen years, and thirteen years of marriage by flying halfway across the country to spend five days on the West Coast.

My husband and I had never spent so many nights away from our kids, and honestly, he and I needed this time. We all needed this time. The hustle and bustle of busy lives, left unchecked, can take a toll on a marriage. This was going to be a time of refreshment and renewal with some of my favorite people on the planet.

My kids were in the loving hands of my mother-in-law, a woman who is generous and kind, and whose willingness to move into our crazy, loud household for the week was the reason my husband and I were able to steal away for some precious time of reconnecting.

Her generous pouring of herself into our lives and into the lives of our children sometimes moves me to tears. My children know their Grandma Connie as the woman who comes bearing craft projects and banana bread, who takes them to the park, and who always stops at McDonald’s to buy them shakes on the way back home. She sees my children when they are less than perfect and loves them fiercely anyway.

Her gift of time is absolutely precious. Having grown up without involved grandparents due to advanced age and distance, I understand how fortunate my children are to have a grandparent so lovingly and tangibly involved. And we aren’t the only ones who benefit: Connie is generous with her time with a multitude of family members and friends. She is a wonderful example of the unconditional love described in Scripture: not proud or selfish, but patient and kind.

—Julie

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Whom has God given you to pour time and love into? Maybe it’s your spouse, a friend, your children, or your nieces and nephews. Give them the gift of your time and undivided attention.