The things we take for granted

By Jeff Becraft

We are in the process of selling Mom and Dad’s house. It has been a long process to get the house ready and it has taken a lot of work. It went on the market last week and we just got an offer on it yesterday. This is great news with it happening so quickly, but what really makes it exciting is that it is a military family that is interested in buying it and that makes it very meaningful to us. We would be really honored for a military family to be able to get Mom and Dad’s house and make it their own with their own memories.

But there is also another side… it just really hit me yesterday. Now, Mom is gone and Dad is gone… and we wanted to sell the house quickly… but it just really hit me that this really is the closing of a chapter,

A lot of memories came back of growing up with Mom and Dad, all the sacrifices they made, the love that they showed my brother and I. The reality of this chapter of life closing simply hit me.

But I think what hit me the most was just looking backwards and all the things that I have taken for granted over the years. This is what probably saddened me the most.

I am not really sure why we take things for granted, or what distracts us to not fully appreciate something or someone or some experience… but when we were cleaning up and getting things ready and when I was in the middle of that (along with everyone else but Hannah by far did the most work), I would have thoughts like, “Man, I can’t wait till this is done and we get this house sold.” I really kind of bypassed the whole reflection of, you know, the various experiences there growing up, the great family that Mom and Dad had provided… which included a house.

And that chapter looks like it is beginning to close now. I want the house to sell and I want another family to be able to enjoy it. I wouldn’t want to hang on to it.

But the closing of the chapter really makes me see how much I have taken for granted over the years.

What I encourage us with today is when one chapter closes, that means another chapter is opening. If Mom and Dad’s house brings joy to another family, then that will be a new chapter and that will be exciting to know that in some way we were part of that.

So let’s make the most of each moment and each day and not take it for granted… the things and people and experiences that are right there in front of us.

Jeff Becraft is the Director of Our Place of Hope, where people find encouragement to regain meaning, purpose, and hope for their lives. Jeff has dedicated much of his life to helping shift the vision of people’s lives. If you would like Jeff to speak to your group or event, you can connect with him at  [email protected].