the Thanksgiving post

I know. It's a vastly original and unique title.

As usual, Dad and the boys and I watched the Macy's parade and played parade bingo. We've watched the parade every year for as long as I can remember. This year, however, I slept through two-thirds of it.

The guys raked leaves while Mom cooked and I washed dishes. We ate our big meal off the Haviland china that belonged to my great-grandmother. We cleaned up, enjoyed Drew's trademark pumpkin pie (with a cheesecake layer and streusel topping--he wins contests with that pie) and some really nice coffee, then played games and watched It's a Wonderful Life.

And as much as I like our family traditions, that wasn't my favorite part of the day.

The best part was just being with the amazing family that God has blessed me with. And we're not perfect, but it's better that way.

Being at home this week has been wonderful. I've gotten to "jump" on the trampoline (more like "I've been flung so high on the trampoline that I feared for my life") and go running with Drew. I've gotten to dance with Daniel. I've gotten to talk with Dad and laugh a lot. I've gotten to spend time with Mom, talking and telling stories.

I've also gotten to sleep in every day, organize my closet, and wash a lot of dishes (I assigned myself to kitchen patrol for the week), but that's hardly worth mentioning. Because it's a part of life, but not the important part.

Lately I've been thinking about how much relationships matter. Relationships are the important part of life.

In the gospel of Matthew, a man asks Jesus what the most important commandment is. This is Christ's reply:

"And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:37-40

So everything rests on relationships. And it doesn't have to be as complicated as I often make it. Simply put, I need to love God first and then love those around me, first my family and then others. And that's how God is teaching me to live.

A couple weeks ago, I was reading online about a museum exhibit. It is a letter-writing station, where people come and write letters that they wish they had written while they had the chance. They write the things that should have been said years ago. They ask forgiveness. The exhibit gives them the opportunity to seek closure. And I suppose it's a good idea, but all I could think about while I was reading the article was "I don't want that to be me."

I don't want to find myself sitting at a desk in a museum ten or twenty years from now, writing a letter and wishing I hadn't missed all those opportunities that I was given. Wishing I had swallowed my pride and done the right thing. Wishing I had said what I needed to say. Wishing I had told people how much they meant to me. Wishing to go back.

I don't want that to be me. I don't want to live with regret like that. I don't want to waste the vast opportunities God has given me.

God is teaching me to value relationships. He's showing me how much I truly need Him (desperately) and He's helping me grow in our relationship. It's so exciting. I am simply blown away by Him.

Just think--the God who merely spoke and life sprang forth, the One who keeps the planets spinning and knows every star by name, the Sovereign Lord of Lords and King of Kings--He desires to know us. We, who are made from dust, whose lives are short and transient, like a vapor in the wind. He wants to know us. And He sent His Son that we might know Him. He heals our hearts and--get this--he invites us to share in His purposes. He invites us to be His hands and feet, bringing His life to a broken and dying world.

It's not like He needs our help.

He just loves us that much.

So He's drawing me near. And it's amazing.

God is also teaching me to value relationships with others. When I first started school, several people told me to make sure I had a social life apart from school. They said that academics are important, but not the most important thing. It was very good advice, and I needed to hear it.

The first two weeks of school were hard and overwhelming. Being in school for eight hours, then coming home with two hours of homework, was all completely new. For a while, I didn't really have a life. But I got over the culture shock and learned to balance school and life.

The second week of school, I spontaneously called a friend and we got discounted tickets to hear an opera singer. It was so much fun...I'm the only one in my family who likes opera, and my friend loves it. So we went to hear this amazing singer and then just walked and talked. I needed the break from school, and I so enjoyed spending that time with my friend. Now she is moving to Kentucky next month, and I am thankful that we got to share that experience, because we won't see each other again for a very long time. I'm glad we took the opportunity while we had the chance.

Lately I've been writing a lot of letters. And not just because of that article I read, but because I wanted to get back in touch with people before it's too late. And I love writing letters.

E-mail is convenient. It makes my life a lot easier. The instant communication is quite useful. Facebook is useful, too. It has helped me get in touch with people I haven't seen in years. (Unfortunately, Facebook can also be a very effective time-waster, at least for me, which is one reason I haven't logged on this week.) Telephone calls are great, too...

But there is nothing like a handwritten letter. To know that someone took the time to sit down and compose a personal letter, even writing by hand because they care about you, makes it all the more valuable. And in this day of advertisements and other postal clutter, unexpectedly finding a real letter in the mailbox is quite exciting (to me, anyway). William James said, "As long as there are postmen, life will have zest." And I'm inclined to agree.

Dear me, this post is long...anyway, that is what's been going on with me. God is teaching me to value relationships, and it is so good.

Going to make coffee and do homework, now.