God Given Time – Guest Post Chris McKoy

Today I’m blessed to have my dear friend Chris McCoy guest posting for me. I have been blessed to call Chris a friend for many years, she is a Christian woman, wife, mother and happens to be the owner of my favorite local florist, Parsons Florist.

Please welcome Chris and thanks so much my dear friend for stepping in while I’m away!

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As a mother of two wonderful boys and wife to a loving husband, I didn’t ever think life was going to be anything but a fast paced race through time. Trying to “keep up with the Jones'” have it all, be the super mom, super wife and super employer to 10 wonderful women was taking its toll on me.

Until this year, when finally after years of knocking on the door to my heart, I finally gave my life to Christ.  I can not even begin to tell you how much my life has changed since.  I compare it to the time I finally realized I couldn’t see the chalk board in school.  After a trip to the optometrists and a pair of new glasses, it was like seeing the whole world new!  I couldn’t believe how much I was missing.  I couldn’t believe how good things really looked! Bringing Jesus into my life has not only changed my soul, but has changed my whole family.

My Husband, Children and I have seen huge changes in our lives.  The most important is when we realized we were not the most important.  We now put God first, family and friends second and finally work last.  At first this really scared me, I was a total workaholic. The pressure from generations of family to carry on the success of our 94-year-old family florist was astonishing.  I thought If I wasn’t there every day and minute things would fall apart.

I realize now, by giving my worries and stresses over to God, things which were once so daunting have become so much easier.  I don’t need to be there 24/7 and when I am there I love it just as much as I did before if not a bit more!  Our family life has taken a drastic change for the better.

When you stop and think about it, you only have 12 or so years to truly help shape the lives of your children.  By the age of 12 change for them is very difficult.  They know who they are becoming and who you are as parents.  This year we realized time was fleeting with our 12-year-old.  So we seized the moment.  Our days off are filled with fishing trips, hiking journeys, car rides, local festivals and fairs. Quiet time spent in a canoe is one of my favourite things to do with my young pre-teen. I’ve learned to love the things he loves rather than forcing him to do what I choose. I can bait any hook and take a pike off the line without gloves!  I don’t even mind cleaning our catches now!

Most of my friends claim they could never ever do that….But I ask them, “if you would be willing to jump in front of a bus to save your child’s life, than why wouldn’t you learn to fish with your child if that simple pastime could also save their life?”

Connecting with our children and each other has become the passion of my husband and I. Our youngest son who is eight, enjoys other activities which we participate in as well.  Both boys have had such a change in their lives and we see it every day.

One of the best choices we made was to eliminate TV for our kids and we are going into our 10th month of only movies as a family.  They play with each other, make inventions, run around in the yard and enjoy getting to know each other.  I am so glad our children will truly know each other as children and have the opportunity to build that life long relationship now.  Finding time is easy when you sit and truly prioritize your life.

Will I really remember what I watched on TV 10 years from today?  Will I remember the warm afternoon sun, splitting through the green moss-covered trees, highlighting the soft ferns on the forest floor of the Hockley Valley. The babbling waters of the Nottawasaga river singing its melodious tune calling us to watch the salmon jumping up each section of the waterfalls to where they will spawn a new generation of salmon.  The backlit silhouette of my eldest son as he turns and smiles at me will forever be etched in my mind.  I can still smell the freshness of the forest.  That moment alone, is worth 100 tv shows! That day did not cost me a thing.  We thanked God that night for His wonderful creation and giving us the time together.

How do I find the time to do it all?  I make the time.  The house will still need cleaning tomorrow.  God will understand if I didn’t clean.  Would he understand if we didn’t make time to raise my boys the way He would want me to raise them?

I just hope and pray we didn’t wait too long for our children.  Can these next few years be enough?  Only time will tell.  But, until that moment when life tests them as the men they  become, we will continue to teach our sons the values we hold and want them to live by.

 Making time, taking time, its a choice.  I work 40 hours a week still. I volunteer 2-3 hours per week. I take small group classes with our church and worship every day.  I fit in my devotional at a quiet time and garden for hours.  We make time for family and friends.

I think God has made a few extra hours in my week for us.

We cherish every moment. We thank God for every second!