Family

Emily, Elise, Sarah, Adonijah and Hayley

You may have read this before, but today I felt it was a message that was quite important for everyone everywhere. It is particularly pertinent to me, having had a few spats with my children the past couple of days. It brings home how important our families really are and how special.

A POEM I RECEIVED VIA EMAIL ABOUT "F A M I L Y"

I ran into a stranger as he passed by, 'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.
He said, 'Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you.'
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
'While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.'
By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed; '
Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said.
'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'
He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.'
I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.'
He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway.'
I said, 'Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.'


FAMILY

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.


And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think?


So what is behind the story?


Do you know what the word FAMILY means?

FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

A Message about Family from Hayley Solich


Last weekend I felt to lay a table in honour of my family. I am currently temporarily separated from my husband and the children had been with him for the weekend. So when they arrived home it was to a table that was set with some party stuff and special note for each person. I took a lot of care in the presentation of the table and I cooked a beautiful roast meal. As I was sitting at the table my children said to me, "Mum, what's the party for?" Their little faces were so excited and they couldn't work out why I'd done it. I started to get teary and I said, "It is in celebration of our family." They were all so excited and my husband just looked at me with a grateful light in his eye, because in the note I'd placed in front of him I had asked for forgiveness for not understanding him better, not trying harder and not being there for him when he needed me most.


The point is, family is important. It's the most important part of our lives and for many years I have put other things first - my career, my latest project, my friends, my hobbies, but I realise that I have four young lives that are looking to me for an example.


Since the luncheon, I've been into two of my children's classrooms as a helper. I didn't realise just how much this would mean to them. My daughter was so excited, she kept coming up to me in the classroom and kissing me. It was a precious moment and only cost me an hour or two of my time. Just think of the opportunities I have been missing by being too busy doing my own thing. I plan to make more time for creating special memories with my children.