I don't have some lengthy lesson here, that's just a thought that hit me that I needed time to really process in order to share. I may spend the rest of my life processing it.
If you don't have a personal, conversational relationship with God through the sole mediation of his Son Jesus Christ, you are missing out on the greatest relationship of all eternity. If you're unsure of how that all works, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of the Bible (I prefer NIV translation, though there are innumerably many good versions). I literally cannot implore you any more strenuously or simply than that. I built this blog because I made a commitment in my life a long time ago that I would choose to follow the words of the Bible (imperfectly, since we are all still human until we're someday restored to Glory) and to seek after Jesus Christ to the exclusion of all other earthly things and relationships.
I have been blessed in my life to have and to see many good, Christian parents, and in honor of Father's Day and Mother's Day being recently celebrated, I want to say a special thank you to my mom and dad for teaching me early and often about the Bible, because their love means the world to me, but their teaching means eternity.
I have no idea how so many good Christian parents have struggled their entire lives with this concept; that you need to love God more than your spouse, your children, or anyone else this life may give you. I know now how much a person can love their child, and yet God's love is a more perfect form of the mere representation he has given us in creation.
A lifelong friend of mine lost his father unexpectedly back in January. Recently we were catching up on the phone, because I wanted to see how he's doing and to update him on the latest decisions I'm facing in my personal and professional life. His best advice, and I write it here because I want to remember it for as long as the internet exists, is that you should leave nothing undone or unsaid in life if it's important to those whom you care about. For me, that's meant several things, including brazenly declaring my feelings for a few of the most important people in my life, not to mention making potentially life-altering decisions about my career.
My best advice to anyone and everyone is this: don't wait. Undeclared affections may be unreturned, but you will never know until you pluck up the courage and say something. If it's an important declaration that you've been holding on to regarding a family member, say it immediately and often (within reason, of course), and if you have the opportunity to spend quality time with them, do so. There is literally no guarantee in this life that you will die of old age. More importantly than making moves in life though is to make the only declaration that will still resonate in ten thousand years, which is that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.