Be there.

Be there.


I have made a great effort since the first of the year to be there. And by be there I mean attend events that are important to the people I care about. In the past I have made excuses for my absenteeism. I am tired. My presence is not that important. I don’t have the extra cash for a gift. Plenty of other people will go. There are so many reasons we can come up with to miss things. What if we all really committed to being there for each other?


I have taken my just had a baby self to wedding showers, I have attended birthday parties where I was not totally comfortable, been to out of town baby showers where I didn’t know too many people, I have returned home early from trips, just to be there. Not always because it was just what I wanted to do (lets be real, this girl loves to nap!), and maybe sometimes for not the perfect reasons, but nonetheless, I have been there. And you know what? I have gotten a lot from it. I have gotten a lot from it because for the most part, it doesn’t matter how nice the gift you bring is, it doesn’t matter if you are a few minutes late or leave a little early, for people to see that with a million other things going on in the world you decided to be there with them on their day.. that is sincere appreciation and it strengthens relationships.


My grandmother has always been a “be there” person. She is selfless with her time (which to me is harder than being selfless with money). And another lady from my church that is always there is Ms. Rebecca, you know if she is not there something came up. You can count on her for church events and showers and there is just something special about people you can really always count on to support events. I want to be one of those people.

Now this is not a promise to never miss a party. Things do come up. My first earthly obligation is my family so if Tim or my children have something going on that will always come first. But, whenever I can, whether I really feel like it or not, you can count on seeing my smiling face! 


I encourage you to join me in “being there”. I can almost guarantee you no one will remember how great your gift was, or if your clothes matched, or if you smiled the whole time you were there, people probably wont remember that your child cried nonstop, or that you looked tired from work, or kids, or whatever it may be… but you know what they will remember.. seeing you there. Knowing that in a world where commitment can be difficult to find, you were committed to making them your priority on that day. Pretty priceless.


Thankful for those people who have been there for me and looking forward to being that person for others!