Jun 2010 17

They Follow Me2

Posted In Family

Every day I wake up to four faces.  These four people look to me for guidance, direction, comfort, love, leadership and so many other things.  I get up, take a shower, get dressed, head downstairs, kiss them and head out the door to work.

As I walk out of our front door I see this picture hanging on our wall

familyfeet

We had these pictures done by a good friend about 8 months ago.  I love this picture.  It is one of my favorite of all time…why??

I head out the door ready to talk to people, meet people, minister to people, love people, be there for them…all the while leaving the four most important people behind.  Every morning, or time I walk by this image, I think of my beautiful wife and kids that want to follow me, long to follow me, desire to walk in my footsteps….and it makes me ask the question:

DO I HAVE THINGS BACKWARDS? Am I losing time and influence with those that I care for most because I am trying to gain influence in other areas?

I want to be a great Dad and husband…sometimes I just suck at it!! Sometimes I am so selfish and going after the things that will fulfill me that I miss out on the things that truly fulfill the desires of my heart.  But that’s not my intention it just IS sometimes.

THEY FOLLOW ME…and I pray that I will lead them well and to the heart of Jesus

What things often times get backwards in your life??

2 Comments

  1. Christopher Wiseman says:
    July 13, 2010 at 11:19 am

    Jake, thank you so much for sharing this. It is such an important reminder for everyone who works or volunteers or “does [fill in the blank]” for their families and to give our children a better life. “THEY FOLLOW ME…and I pray that I will lead them well and to the heart of Jesus” Ultimately time and authentic connection and building a strong spiritual foundation is what will bring them a better life.

    I find this so important for myself as I’m involved in the leadership of a nonprofit designed as an outreach to teens. How easy it is to worry about how many Twitter followers when the followers in my own home go ignored, taken for granted. How much time do we spend connecting and listening and interacting with FB friends when we’re too busy for why two kids are fighting over a toy?

    I’m blessed to have a connection with my eldest son who is 16 that I can involve him in this outreach and have his valuable input and ideas. After all, how can we authentically minister and connect with other teens when we’re not even connected with our own?

    Reply

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