The Rudder

It was around 8 pm on a Sunday night. I was still on the phone talking with clients, when my youngest son, just starting to get around by walking and bumbling, pushed open the door, fell and started screaming. "Get these kids out of here, I'm on the phone." I had hit the mute button on the phone , but hadn't hit the mute button on my mouth and attitude. It was time for a major paradigm shift.

Mark 8:36 says "What does it matter that you gain the whole world but lose your soul." My life up to that point all about the dollar; I had three months in a row of closing six ot seven real estate deals and three more set to close next month.

Up to that point, every decision I made was based on what we could do to increase my income. My "quality time" with the kids was bringing them to the office or open houses to close more deals.
Looking back, I can see what God was doing in our lives. The love of money had clouded everything. It took my son falling down and screaming to realize what REALLY mattered. Our children were there, waiting for us to spend time with them, whether we were "successful" or not. God was there, waiting for us to engage in a relationship with him. We came to realize that success is not defined by the amount of money we make, it's found in the real relationships we invest ourselves in.