Cherish

     Cherish.   To love and to protect.   To value someone or something because of a deep emotional connection.   For whatever reason this word and its meaning have been on my mind lately.
      On a recent trip to the local courthouse I walked up the steps and right into a wedding before I realized what was going on.   Sweet.   Young.   Innocent.  All smiles.  And promising to cherish each other for a lifetime.  
      I walked passed  them to the clerks office so I could renew my notary public license.  A few minutes later the brand-new couple came in to the room to file their marriage license  and make it legally official.   The looks on their faces said at all.   Love.   Hope.  And cherish. The future was there just waiting for them.
       Anyway  I just keep thinking about that word, cherish.  We get so busy with our every day lives that I think sometimes we forget to really cherish what and who is important.   Oh, we mean well.   But time gets away before we realize it.  
     I personally had wanted to be a grandma for a very long time.   But then one day not too long ago I realized that once that happens my relationship with my own children will be different.   So I decided to cherish the time I have with them now.   I am absolutely amazed at the young adults they have become.   And while I do enjoy this empty nest,  I have to admit that I shed tears when they've been here for a while and then leave.   I cherish my time with them.   I cherish them.
      God has blessed me more than I ever imagined.   But I could not see that until I  chose to look at things through the right lenses.  Rose colored glasses at times?   Maybe.   And that's OK.  
     The Word  tells us in Philippians 4:8  that whatever is true,  whatever is noble and right and pure and lovely,  whatever is admirable,  if anything is excellent or praiseworthy,  we are to think about these things.   And you know what?   Seeing things through those lenses,  thinking about those things,  well it sure makes cherishing a whole lot easier.  
     And you know something else?   There is one who cherishes you and me more than anything.  He cherished us more than life itself.  Jesus.  Do you know Him?   Would you like to?