All is not gold that glitters. This saying has been going through my head the past few days as I have been considering photography something gold.
Many people are going after things that glitter but are not true gold. Money, possessions, and fame all glitter. But none of these are truly valuable. They are not true gold. The things of real value are people and what you do for the sake of heaven. These are all the will survive in eternity.
During the Christmas season, people get caught up with all sorts of glittering things. There are Christmas programs to see, goodies to make, presents to buy and wrap, homes to clean, and guest to receive. These keep us busy, busy, busy. But when Christmas is over their glitter will fade and we will know they are of no value and someday they will be remembered no more.
We think that everything has to be perfect if we are going to get a gold star to mark a job well done. Let me tell you a secret, people do not care whether everything is perfect or not when they are having golden moments. In fact, they will not remember the mess, the mistakes, or the things not done. What they will remember is the fun and love they had.
My December has been busier than normal. This has reminded me of how important the time with my family is. The money I make at work, the presents I need to wrap, and the desserts I want to make, none of that is truly important. My family members are and when I spend time with them that is important. As I make the effort, that time turns into golden moments.
Golden moments are ones that are specials. They are moments you treasure up for years. They are moments were you forget what is going on in the world around you, and enjoying who is with you. Time has no effect in truly golden moments, they are timeless. These moments allow you to pour into someone else’s life and show them that you really care. In the long run, golden moments are the only moments that really matter.
As I child, I loved the year we set up a fake Christmas tree downstairs and made homemade ornaments for it. Throughout my growing up years I have many fond memories of spending time with my parents in the kitchen. In more recent years I remember taking time away from cooking to go sledding with my younger brothers and hyper-excited fun making messes by shaking up soda bottles and then opening them as our parents were downstairs doing “secret” stuff. (Don’t try this at home. It makes a great mess, although I did get a great picture of soda flying all over the place.) These are golden moments.
There is not much time left before Christmas and mostly likely lots to be done. Let me encourage you to stop. Take a breath. Think about how you are using your moments. Spend time with your siblings, children, spouse, or friends making golden moments. Who cares if everything is just right, the house is perfectly clean, or you have all the Christmas goodies made? Ten years from now no one will care what the house looked like, or the goodies tasted like, or that everything was just right. If you make your moments with other people golden, they will not remember if everything was not right or the house was a mess. They will remember all the fun you had together and the fact that you cared about them.
So be willing to make a mess doing a fun Christmas treat with your little one, little sibling, or little friend. Try a new dessert with someone in your family or a friend. Play a game or do a puzzle with an older relative and learn of Christmases when they were young. Let things on your to-do list not get done so that the really important things get done.
Earn a gold star this year by making golden moments.
