In 2016 we chose a "theme" to live by for our family for the year. Our 2016 theme was to invest. To be honest I thought mostly of money when we set this theme. I wanted us to make it priority to invest in the improvements around the house, in our car and in our future.
WOW -did I learn something different. As I began to invest our money in things, God started to challenge to widen the idea of investment in our family. So the theme became investing in those around us, making friendships, in each other and in ourselves.
We started by inventing in our marriage. Taking an early trip to Italy to celebrate our 20th anniversary was something I would have never done. I mean leave my little girl and travel the world who does that? People who are investing in the next 20 years of marriage. It put our relationship on the front burner, something to pay attention to not just coast through. The vacation was amazing yet the thought process of investing in my relationship with my husband was life changing. I loved him before - this year I end 2016 thinking of him as a treasure I want to take care of and continue to get to know better. (BTW - you do not need a fancy vacation to invest in your marriage- any little changes can make a big difference)
I decided to do something unheard of in our house, invest in mom. Yes, you heard right - in me, started with getting a pair of really nice jeans. Sounds silly yet we shop all the time and end up with stuff for the kids, dogs, hamsters, husbands, guy down the street before we buy what we just want. Then I took it one step more, I went to the doctor to find out why I was always so tired. Long story short, I had sleep apnea. A small investment in one of those fancy machines and I am like a new women.
We investing in several other things. We joined a connect group at our church, invested in the girls on Wednesday night at our church, did some home improvements (like a new front door that closes), focused on my prayer life and personal quiet time, got a dog after our dog of 13 years passed away, the list could go on and on. I really took this word to heart and applied to every area of our lives.
The idea of invest for 2016 is summed up for me in this last story. I was bringing my daughter to church the other day and she was talking about this past year. It has been a hard one for her for many different reasons. At the end of reflecting on the not so fun things she started listing the positives...as she ended she said to me,"the best part of 2016 is we are so much closer as a family this year and just love spending time together". I was blown away, investing in small ways made a difference in the way she felt about life. Now that is worth the investment.
