To last a lifetime

A long time ago, in a rental house far, far away, a beautiful (that is part of my positive affirmation language) young bride cuddled closely to her handsome and youthful husband on their hand-me-down sofa. They did not know at the time that this would become a thing of the past in the not so distant future.

As they lazily spent the evening in each other's arms they spoke of useless things uninterrupted. They dreamed of what their life together would become. Where would they live? What would they do? What kind of home would they live in? When would they have children? How many children would they have? How frequently would they vacation? But mostly they dreamed of moments like this lasting forever.

Okay, fairy tale over. In truth, I hardly remember what exactly was spoken in all of that free time together. Good grief, we must have been lazy! So much wasted time just lying around loving each other. We probably made out a lot more back then. One thing does stand out, however.

I remember in those long talks of futures unknown, that both Chad and I were completely in sync about the importance of family ties. Even before the birth of our children we knew that living near our parents, the grandparents of our soon to be family, was high on our list of priorities. Certainly there was much to consider, and finding a job in which Chad would be able to support us in a manner that was responsible without sacrificing our highest priority, me staying home to raise our children.

For us, there is little that can usurp the benefits of living near our extended family. And even though many days the 85-90 miles that they are away feels about 80 to many, we know that in reality they are just a short drive away. A drive that we have vowed will not take us farther without a direct prompting from God.

There is little that we can give our children that will last their entire lifetime. The video games, cute clothes, fun vacations and endless toys will be all too soon discarded and forgotten. But the hours of being surrounded by the people who love them more than anything are a gift that can not be matched, and certainly will not be forgotten.

It has not always been the easiest thing for us to do. It has required sacrifice, adjustments, priority reorganization, but it has been worth it all. And sometimes it moves me to tears just thinking of the legacy we are giving them, God has given them. One day many removed from now, our children will be gathered around their tables looking into the faces of their own children, and I pray, I truely pray that there is a place set for Chad and I...at least once in a while.

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