'You reap what you sow.'

There's truthfulness in the above scripture from Galatians 6:7 that becomes evident in our daily lives. Yet each day is also an opportunity to set things straight and sow better seeds that will later yield better outcomes.  Sometimes life reminds us how we should be more aware of what we sow and that consciousness is necessary because the affect is not only to ourselves but to those around us.  Our children like sponges seeps the consequences of our actions be it good or bad and it molds their own thinking, actions and personality.  

This weekend's events gave me a lot of opportunity to meditate on these truths as a family gathering reminded me that the strong security of support that is family (and close friends) can break down easily if you yourself will not do your part in taking care of it. 

Without becoming too specific, it was my brother-in-law's graduation from trade school.  A celebration was planned to follow the ceremony.  My husband has a large family and an occasion like this one is usually an automatic reason for a mini reunion.  But since my sister-in-law's death, dissensions between the siblings and a lot of the family occurred mainly due to the issue of money (what else is new).  To make the long story short, most of them are not talking and my brother-in-law (the one who graduated) is often in the offensive.  It's little wonder then that there was only a handful of people there to celebrate with him.  It was so unusual to me since even his close friends were not even there.  It just felt sad and very uncharacteristic of an event in that home and this was his graduation....something he was very proud of and certainly a big deal!  

What was more notable to me though is the reaction of his eldest child, his daughter who is in her early teens and was constantly asking her mom if anyone was coming at all!  She was in tears when one of the uncles showed up but was later visibly disappointed that he was not accompanied by his family, their aunt and cousin.  By the end of the night, you could sense her sadness. This party was definitely not like what she was used to when the whole family was united and happy.  What was sown over that past few months was a lot of bitterness and deceit, a lot of doubt and hurtful words and it all comes down to this.  The adults probably shoved it off as nothing but to the children it was pretty traumatic. 

Our lives in this day and age are already quite complicated.  When I became a parent, I knew that the challenge was daunting but I was determined to set a pace for my children and to help them learn the pros and cons of life and the importance of faith, relationships and family.  I've been looking back and re-evaluating our lives since our wake-up call early this year.  We've been reminded that life is fleeting and that you must be more conscious in what you put in each day be it in yourself, your spirituality, your relationships, your family and your children so that there will be little regret down the line.  What I observed in that family get together reminded me that there will always be consequences to our actions and it's not just us who will be affected by them but sometimes it will be our love ones who will be more so.  So today I'm renewing my commitment to make positive changes in our own lives, to revisit my spiritual goals and my parenting goals with the hopes of sowing better seeds for the future.  I'm starting with a schedule and some supplemental reading of a book that's familiar to many....

Simplicity is already a principle we are encouraged to live by but the specifics in this book will help me implement it more effectively.  

Yes, I'm making an effort to sow more mindfully with the hopes of reaping better, happier results now and in the days to come.