Time over time.

I ran across an article about preparing for a rainy day. This isn't an article about saving for college or a broken furnace. It's about planning ahead to make art that will only work when it rains. It's actually very cool. The link that shows you how to do it is right here. Basically, you prepare something fun for the family to see, but you don't get the payoff until it rains sometime down the road. It works because we know it will rain someday. Rain is inevitable.  

It made me think about life and how time is fleeting. We live in an instant gratification culture that seeks the payoff now. Buy Now - Pay later allows us to get the car now! Why wait when you can get what you want now? Unfortunately, this mindset leaks over into our family lives as well, doesn't it? You plan big trips or family dinners in hopes that it will fix whatever your "thing" is or whatever "issue" is pulling your child away from you. The problem is that instant gratification doesn't work in the context of relationships. Relationships take time. Relationships take intentionality. 

The problem is that intentionality takes time and time is fleeting!

Psalm 90:12 says "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Rainy days will come in the lives of the people we care about most. What we do today can shape the results of that rainy day. To begin, we have to understand that making a difference in the life of someone else doesn't happen instantly, in one conversation, one moment together. We are making history now. The problem is, when you are making history, you usually don't know it. Our vision gets foggy past today. 

You can help someone, your child, your friend, learn something with time that you never could in a moment. God models this with us, as His children. He modeled it throughout the history of His people. God knows something about us that we haven't seemed to understand: relationships take time over time. What kind of history are you writing right now? Are you ok with the history you're writing in the lives of your children? Rain will come. I want those who are dearest to me to see the bigger picture when the rain comes. I want them to be able to make wise decisions when the rain comes. I want them to choose the right friends when I'm not there with them. I want them to remain faithful to God when those around them are not. Those are things that aren't learned with words, but time and intentionality. Maybe with time and intentionality, we can change the world...one life at a time.