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Last Monday found me a bit bleary-eyed as I approached my new week. A full weekend of company before that left me catching my breath, my podcasts, blog posts deadlines, hosting my weekly Bible study and getting it set up, (setting up chairs for the 20ish people in my small living room, preparing refreshments, and the study!), publishing deadlines looming), meals, meetings, children, Clay, a very full plate.
But Joy, who had also just come back from a 5 day journey the night before, texted and said, “We need to fit in our daffodil visit to London—you know we have done it for 4 years in a row. We need to make it a commitment and just go! How about tomorrow?”
Daffodils in the UK are a long tradition not to be missed—countless thousands and thousands on road sides, in parks, along walls, in church years—said to have been started by Roman soldiers over 1000 years ago.
Some things are more important than all the piles of “to do’s.” It wasn’t just the daffodils that called. It was the time my very precious daughter and I would invest in one another’s lives, talking, making memories, giving value to our friendship, having the chance to be deeply involved in one another’s lives that drove me to put everything aside for one day and to make the spontaneous commitment.
A close relationship with all of my children, and the privilege of being able to love and influence them has come from making thousands of such choices—relationship over responsibility. Being sure to make time for the relationship intentionally, placing real live commitments to be together in the calendar—in the rhythms of life.
Jesus chose to live with his disciples, walk with them over the dusty roads, eat meals with them, sleep with them, train and take them with him in order to pass on a legacy of faith. He would weave and exhibit servant leadership in front of them with them as eyewitnesses to all the mundane and normal, daily interactions of his life. But he also made time to talk with them, meet with them, encourage them—his relationship came out of a resolve to be intentionally involved day in day out. And these were the ones who, as acts says, “turned the world upside down.”
So, Joy and I took time to go to Green Park, St. James Park, to wander, to talk, to drink our coffees and share deep thoughts and incidental every day occurrences. I may forget those days when I washed one more dish, did one more duty, complete one more chore. But I will not forget the day we made one another a priority and made a forever memory, cherished our friendship amidst busy life.
As we were walking through the park, and delighted in the first warm-enough day to be outside, we joined hundreds of others who had made the same decision. She gave me one of her ear buds, while she stuffed the other into her ear and we listened to this delightful song together as we walked through the parks doing just what the song said. You must take a listen:
London in the Spring
Oh, London in the spring
Makes me feel so lucky I'm alive
I've got love to give
I've got my whole life to live
Walking through the park
Sunshine pours like honey through the trees
I believe I'm coming home
Well, some people tell me
I've better things to do
And more productive ways that
I could spend my time
But I'm not sure I agree
It often seems to me, we spend our lives
Talking foolish, running blind
And we forget how to enjoy the simple things
Like walking through London in the spring
Artist: Passenger
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