"Cheese Is"

A few months ago, I was putting my 4 year old daughter, Ava, to bed and we were going through a short devotional together. The theme was priorities and after reading a short story about a girl who didn't have her priorities in order, we went through a few questions at the end. The first question was "What is the most important thing in your life?".....I read the question aloud a couple of times and paused to give Ava time to answer. Mind you, I was feeling a bit fatigued that night and probably yawning through the whole thing but I truly and sincerely thought that she answered "Jesus." Jesus, I thought, wow....she answered Jesus....I must be doing something right. After relishing my shining mommy moment, I touched Ava's arm and said, "So Jesus is the most important thing to you?" Ava responded, "No, Mommy, cheese is".......

Cheese is. Talk about a tail tucking moment! That was definitely one for the journal.....geez.

I've been thinking a lot about priorities lately. Going from one to two kiddos under my wing has more or less forced me to....turning 40 has forced me to....aging parents has forced me to....dealing with painful events has forced me to.....it all goes back to that question, "What is the most important thing in my life?" And I'll add to that, are my actions and decisions lining up with what I say my priorities are?

In 1 Corinthians 13:1 - 3, Paul says, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." Paul breaks it down, it's all about love, and then goes on in verses 4 - 7 to break it down some more by describing love....most of us have heard this...Love is patient & kind, doesn't envy, isn't proud, rude, self-seeking, or easily angered, holds no record of wrongs, doesn't delight in evil but rejoices in the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres....whew! And to think that this is the kind of love that I claim is the priority of my life, really?

Well, that is my goal anyway. I don't always hit the mark. I don't always get it right, but I am learning more and more about what it means to live a life of love and I am certain that he who started a good work in me will finish it until completion.

Recently, Ava was interviewed by her teacher and asked to fill in the blanks of a questionnaire entitled "My Mom." One of the statements was "I am so glad God gave me my mom because _________" to which Ava's answer was "she loves me."

And in the end, love always trumps cheese...:)

TUG,

Rebecca ><>