Today I did just that. Was it too late for dinner, or would they mind if I came over? I just happened to be in the neighborhood, so would they mind if I stopped by? Is it OK if my hungry stomach came along? I seem to do this often to them. :-)
I love spending time with my parents, and I am so fortunate that they live so close to me. I stay for only an hour or so; then I leave. The short visit doesn't interrupt their evening too much, at least I hope.
I want to savor both of them for as long as I possibly can. Parents are such treasures. And--one day--when the roles reverse (and I'm taking care of them), I will definitely remember all these times and will care for them joyfully.
When I got home, I went directly to my Prayer Room. I had a lot to be thankful for: my parents' endless love, an almost-lost friend's unexpected re-entry and apology, and a million other things.While listening to my Rosary CD, I opened my Bible randomly. There in the Book of Sirach, Chapter 7 reminded me:
With your whole heart honor your father.
Your mother's birthpangs forget not.
Remember, of these parents you were born;
What can you give them for all they gave you?
And indeed I realized that there is absolutely no way to pay them back for all they've given me. My very life and livelihood has depended on them. Even if I should care for them when they are old, to give care toward the end of one's life is not the same as giving care at the beginning of the course of someone's full life. Indeed, I am indebted to them and always will be!
Earlier tonight, as I thought about my friendships, I thought about my wonderful Grandmother and how--over the course of my whole life--she has always told me two things very strongly:
1. Choose your friends wisely.
2. Treasure every moment that you are in school, for not everyone has the same educational opportunities (herself being an example, since she had to leave school after 8th grade to care for her sick mother and brothers and sisters).
And, as my eyes continued to look over the page in Sirach, there came the next message for me--all about friendship--in Chapter 8:
Discard not an old friend,
For the new one cannot equal him.
A new friend is like new wine
Which you will drink with pleasure
Only when it has aged.
It is incredible how God seems to speak so clearly to me sometimes by the readings I encounter in my Bible. I pray that my faith and joy lasts even through the less exciting times of life, or when I open the Bible randomly to simply a long list of genealogies. :-)
