The Lie of a Productive Day

Yesterday was a very different day for me.  Spending the day with my Dad meant that I was spared the bulk of my usual child-minding duties.

I did some thinking about some ministry things I needed to organise.

I wrote and sent an email to someone at church.

I started collating photos together for a photo book I'm creating.

I organised some things for the boys first birthday party.

Hey, I even started a blog post ;)

And all day I kept thinking:  "Wow, what productive days I have when I don't have to look after the boys as much"

But at some stage during the day I began to realise that these thoughts were wrapped up in a lie.

The lie that a day of looking after twin baby boys is somehow unproductive.

You see, a normal day for me does not involve important emails, or organising, or getting through tasks on my to do list.  If I can get one thing done each day then that is pretty great.

But the lie is that the time with the boys is not productive.

As I feed and change and dress I am keeping them alive and healthy.  As I play and talk and laugh I am helping their emotional development.  As I speak I am teaching them language.  As I read to them I am sharing a love of literature.  As I walk them though the neighbourhood I am helping them to see and understand the world.  Through it all I am showing them that they are very love.

And that doesn't even include the more deliberate instruction that are through the day.  The prayers that I pray, the stories that I read,  the general words about God and his role in this world that they are so enthusiastically taking in. True, at ten months they are not necessarily understanding what I say or mean but it's all practice, practice for me and practice for them.  Practice at letting God be talked of in everyday life (Deut 11).

What a productive time it is!

It reminds me of the lie I used to find myself caught up in when I worked in ministry.  Organising a meeting, finishing a roster, writing a Bible study.  I felt very productive as I did them, and of course they were important.  Yet sitting down with someone and reading the Bible often did not.  It wasn't urgent, it wasn't measurable.  But I knew from my own experience and from watching others who I had the privilege to teach that it made the world of difference.  One hour with someone one to one was as significant and important as standing up before a crowd to speak.

Time given to fostering relationships doesn't always seem productive.

But the truth is that relationship time is often the most productive of all.

BG