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“Parents report a higher sense of meaning and purpose in their lives than do adults without children.”

A thought by George Barna,(2011-06-01) from his book, Futurecast: What Today's Trends Mean for Tomorrow's World (p. 42). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

I can say that has been true of me.  I really love being a parent.  I also really love being a grandparent. 

Right now my son and daughter in law and their two daughters are staying with us.  We have set up some very awesome rituals the short time they have been with us.  One of them is that Addison, the three year old, and I every morning eat a big juicy Fuji Apple.  Today we invited Ashlyn, the 6 year old to eat it with us.  Such a fantastic fun time we had.  If you’re not a parent/grandparent you don’t understand what an awesome experience that is.

Margaret and the girls have their own ritual.  Margaret gets up early and goes off to work but when she comes home she rings the doorbell and both of the girls come running to answer it.  Such a celebration happens every day.

We have so many stories about our son Brett and our daughter, Stefanie.  Now we have a son in law, Andrew and a daughter in law, Marissa and they are bringing such joy into our life.  Now I haven’t even mentioned the newest member to the fam, little Harper Olivia Cole, Andrew and Stef’s four month old.

Life has such meaning for me as a dad and as a papa.  And it all started when God brought Margaret into my life.  Now what happened on that day when Margaret came into my life was that I set aside my self focus.  I then took on the responsibility of someone else and with that came purpose and great meaning.  Then when Brett was born on April 7 again my life changed.

I love being a parent even with my kids being parents themselves.  I love still being there to meet their needs as adults and now the added fulfillment and meaning of being a papa.

Life has great meaning when we live for Him and for others.  Even if you are single there is more to your life than just living for yourself.  Find others to strive to add meaning to their lives.  Not for yourself but for them.  That is why we are here.  I do that also in my Starbucks world.  People need us to care, they need us to listen and they need us to feed into their lives.

Meaning comes from our relationships, first with Christ and then with others.  That is what real living is all about.

So where does your meaning and purpose come from?
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