At What Cost?

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this beautiful Friday morning and that a great week is coming to a close for you. Kev is struggling this morning...ever have a morning where it feels like the sheets are holding you in bed, you can't open your eyes and it feels sooooo good to just lay there? Yeah, I had one of those morning!

I want to share a thought/perspective with you this morning and let it speak to your heart however it will. As I was having my bible & leadership study time this morning - have to get my heart right before sharing with my family and all of you! - I came across a quote that is a great guide for you and I this morning (heck, every morning for that matter!):
"You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist." - Friedrich Nietzche

A couple of weeks ago my Beautiful Bride and I had date night...I truly cherish those times with her. Time to be alone, to talk, to dream, to share. I don't remember how it all came up however I was telling her how I had heard/learned at some men's group that studies had found that the breakdown of the family began with the industrialization of the United States. They went on to explain that as jobs were created men began going further and further away from home for work. You see, many years ago, the whole family lived on their homestead together, worked the land together and the primary focus was on food, shelter and that was pretty much it. All throughout the day the family was together. There was no TV, computers, cell phones, cars, desire for some huge house - you and I wouldn't want huge homes either if we had to build them ourselves...with our hands! We were talking about this as we were buzzing down one of the hundreds of 3, 4 & 5 lane highways in a metropolitan area of more than 5 million people with glorious building rising everywhere; beautiful, bright flashing lights everywhere; all kinds of nice, fancy cars seemingly everywhere. As we talked about these things, things which by the way I am not saying are wrong in and of themselves, we talked about the cost(s) associated with gaining them. You see Friends, it is not the buildings, houses, cars, jobs, money, etc. that are bad. These things are not inherently bad. The question is, at what cost were these things attained?

After assuring my sweet, incredibly precious wife that I was not proposing that we sell our house, sell everything we have and move out into the country and establish a homestead somewhere - she was relieved! - we talked about what we truly value. Would we like to have a nice house? Would we like to have a nice car? Would we like to be able to go out to eat - I am not talking about spending in excess here - when we want without feeling the pains of financial strain? Sure, who doesn't? The bigger question though was at what cost? The bigger, bigger question is what do we truly value? As we talked we realized what we truly value is what we will live out in our lives. What makes something a sacrifice and what makes something just what you do to have, to do, what you want? Life is all about choices and consequences. You and I make choices and, for every choice we make there is a consequences. Therefore, while we own our choices it is really our choices that then take ownership of us as the consequences from those choices mold, make and shape the lives we live. A song was just on the radio with a verse that said, "this is your life, are you who you want to be?" Good timing...

So that is the point of this Happy Friday...to encourage you to determine in your heart what you truly value. Please know that you are going to live out your values - we all do - so we can save all the justifications, hidden agendas, trying to say the right thing, etc. You truly can list your values, perhaps you want to use the word priorities, #1 through whatever. I can assure you that whatever #1 is you are going to do everything in your power to make sure it is attained. Once progress is made, or at least we feel like it is being made, towards your #1 will you allow work to be done towards #2 and then #3 and then #4 and then...Spouse? Significant other? Son? Daughter? House? Car? Job? Title? Money? They all have a number. It is up to each and every one of us individually to determine it's number. Please be aware, that whatever number you choose to assign to each one, you are going to live with the consequences of those decisions. That is not intended to be a threatening statement...just keeping it real.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your families. I would truly be honored to help you any way I can.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and cherish those precious families.

Kev