Perhaps it’s because I have Hashi’s.
Perhaps it’s because I married an old soul.
Perhaps it’s because we are just enamored by our kids.
I’m not exactly sure the specific reason why, but for some reason Daddy and I have become totally consumed by our own lives and the people in it who mean so very much to us. Perhaps it’s a crazy combo of factors that got us to the point where we are today. I don’t want to say that we can’t see outside of our own four walls, and I would hope that those of you who know us best can feel our desire to serve others in many things that we do. I pray almost daily that God will use me in others lives to bless them in a way they didn’t even know they needed blessing.
We don’t want to be the people who go to church and write a check every week and call it done. I’m not interested in putting on my Sunday best for the Jones’, only to come home and yell at my kids while my husband sleeps on the couch. We want to really live up to what God has planned for our lives.
What I’m beginning to see is to the outside world, that’s perceived as selfish. To have such an intense focus on raising my babies to the best of my ability can appear snobby or rude to those on the outside looking in.
That certainly isn’t my intent, but on the other hand, I’m not sure I have enough hours in my day to worry about what other people may or may not be thinking.  But, it does make me wonder if we’ve missed the mark somewhere. I absolutely love my life. I love my family. I love the friends that have become my family. In many ways you are much more than blood or a marriage certificate can provide. My desire is to nurture those relationships as much as possible, and sadly that doesn’t leave much time for anything else. That’s just the reality of the situation.
However, at the end of the day, the judgment from others remains. Which makes me second guess it all. Could they be correct? Is the better way to live to only include surface level relationships with many? I can certainly see how on some level, there is something to be said for quantity over quality. It hasn’t worked for me before, but that certainly doesn’t mean I couldn’t try again if that’s what God wants for me.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about relationships and what you guys do to make them work. I’d also love to hear your family’s ‘game plan’ when it comes to how you live your lives.
Many blessings, my friends. I love you all.
I have started having the same feeling…especially since adding Tommy to our family. We see a lot of people a lot less. My family is my number one priority, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still care about everyone else. We’ve tried to adjust ourselves and our social life…which mainly consists of having friends over for dinner (so we can still put Tommy to bed by 8pm) or meeting up for lunch. But you’re right…there just aren’t enough hours in the day or enough days in a month sometimes!!! I think you are doing everything you need to do, you are a great friend, and a wonderful mother, wife, sister, niece, aunt, photographer, etc. 🙂
…that’s my two cents 😛
You know that Nathan and I are a lot like you and Trav. Family time is our top priority, esp with the cancer. The little bit of time that Nathan feels well enough to play with Cam and spend quality time with me is so very precious. The rest of the time, when he isn’t feeling well, I need to care for both him and Cam, which takes everything I have to accomplish successfully. I love my friends dearly and it’s heartbreaking to think they may feel neglected by my distance but I honestly don’t know how to do things any differently. I used to think it was b/c we moved to the Springs and most of our friends are in Castle Rock but have now realized I don’t get to spend much time with the friends I have here either 🙁 I can say that quality is way better than quantity. The Lord desires for us to have meaningful relationships not just lukewarm ones. Yes, it is important to get into the community and serve so we can testify to God’s love and grace, no question about it. We are all given gifts to serve. That doesn’t mean every person we minister to will become a close relationship. Society in a whole has become skewed in it’s opinion of selfish. Putting disgusting stories on the news and indecent ads on radio / television and making it so my child can’t bless his food before he consumes it at school is selfish. Taking the time to instill wonderful qualities into our families and nurturing the relationships that God has placed in our lives is far from selfish. It serves a much greater purpose than just us. That’s JMHO. I love you and your precious family. Y’all are much more than friends to us!