Building
Memories
You
guys go on without me. You’ll have a
great time- I’m sure of that. Sorry, family, but I have to work”
The place? Montgomery Alabama
The time? Several years ago,
The situation? A dad, who really loved his family
and wanted them to enjoy a summer vacation, had to work. The press of business kept him tied to the
office. But being committed to their happiness, he assured them of his desire
that they take the trip and enjoy the fleeting summer days.
He helped them plan every day of the
camping trip. They would load up the
family station wagon, drive to California,
camp up and down the coast, then travel back home together. Each day was carefully arranged-even the
highways they would travel and the places they would stop. Dad knew their whole route, the time they
would reach each state-planned almost to the hour-even when they would cross
the Great Divide.
It’s what he didn’t tell them that made
the difference.
The father took off work (he’d planned it
all along) and arranged to have himself flown to an airport near where his
family would be on that particular day of the trip. He had arranged to have someone pick him up
and drive him to a place where every car on that route had to pass. With a wide grin, he sat on his sleeping bag
and waited for the arrival of the familiar station wagon packed full of kids
and camping gear. When he spotted the
station wagon, he stood up, stepped out onto the shoulder of the road, and
stuck out his thumb.
Can you visualize it?
“Look! That guy looks just like …DAD!”
The family assumed he was a thousand miles
away, sweating over a stack of papers.
It’s amazing they didn’t drive off into a ditch or collapse from heart
failure. Can you imagine the fun they
had the rest of the way? And the memories they stored away in their mental
scrapbook-could they ever be forgotten?
When later asked by a friend why he would
go to all that trouble, the unusually creative father replied, “Well…someday
I’m going to be dead. When that happens, I want my kids and my wife to say,
“You know, Dad was a lot of fun.”
Talk about a unique domestic game plan!
What an outstanding model of a father who wants to be remembered for more than
just the basics-the bare essentials:
“Turn
out the lights.”
“Did you get the bed made”
“Get out there and cut the grass.”
“No, we can’t. I gotta work.”
“How much does it cost?”
“That’s too much trouble, dear. Let’s be practical.”
“Hold it down-I can’t hear the news.”
Oh-but
there’s so much more to life! The
beautiful music of living is composed, practiced, and perfected in the harmony
of home. The freedom to laugh long and
loudly; the encouragement to participate in creative activities; the
spontaneity of relaxed relationships that plant memories and deepen our roots
in the rich, rare soil of authentic happiness.
Couldn’t this be included in the “all things” Paul mentioned in Romans
8:32 and 1 Timothy 6:17? The apostle
tells us that our God “richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”
Were missing it-God’s best-if the fun
memories are being eclipsed by the fierce ones.
The world outside the family circle is dark enough. When the light goes out within the circle…how
great is the darkness.
If life with Mom and Dad has become more
of an endurance course than a refreshing catalyst, then your prime-time project
isn’t too tough to identify. Too many of
us are beginning to resemble stern-faced customs officials guarding the border
rather than approachable, believable parents building happy memories. And maybe
a few crazy ones too. Don’t worry, God can handle it. He’s got a great sense of humor. He made you,
didn’t He?
I’d rather my brood remember me as the dad
who tossed their mother fully clothed
into the swimming pool-and lived to tell the story-than the preacher who
frowned too much, yelled too loud, talked too long…and died too young.
From:
Man to Man
Copyright 1996 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
Zondervan Publishing House
Grand Rapids, Michigan
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