"quality time with Jesus"

one of my good friends texted something to me a couple of weeks ago that really had me thinking. she told me not to forget to spend "quality time with Jesus." maybe this is me overthinking this a bit, but i found her choice of words interesting. if she had just said "spend time with Jesus" i probably wouldn't have thought anything of it. after all, i hear it a lot. but it was that phrase: quality time. it made me think of the love language.

i've read in the book the five love languages, and other books have said the same thing, that we tend the exhibit our own love language. for example, my love language is gifts (i know, sounds a little materialistic...ok, a lot materialistic). therefore, to show someone i appreciate or love them, my first instinct is to buy them something. it's something that we all do, whether we are conscious of it or not.

(on a side note, i think it's why i've had such a great year. the parents of my students have already bought me things for my classroom. who wouldn't love that?!)

i've recently come to realize (like in the past month) that God, in His infinite wisdom, did not instill in me quality time as my love language. why? because me having quality time with people sometimes just doesn't happen. i've grown up with my dad having two jobs and my mom continually helping him out. but i've never felt unloved by my parents or that i was neglected. why? because both of them didn't need to be aroud 24/7 to make me feel like i was worth anything. don't get me wrong-i love spending time with my family. the highlight of my week is friday nights when we go out to eat and just enjoy that it's the weekend. and i'm always up for going to my parents house and just hanging out. but growing up, my parents did what they needed to do to give us a secure, godly environment, and it worked. sure there were times that i complained. but that was just me being a brat. shocker, huh?

all this to say (sorry, i'm a little wordy) that when i received that text from my friend, i was immediately convicted. i thought i'd been showing God that i loved Him, when in truth i was just doing everything but spending quality time with Him. i was attending church, tithing, and having my quiet time. but it wasn't quality time. and it became even more apparent this morning when i talked to kelli. she had asked me a question about something, and here's what happened:

me: "it's funny that you should ask me about that, because i talked to the Lord about that very thing just a few minutes ago."

kelli: "oh really? and what did the Lord say?"

me: "actually, i told the Lord-"

kelli: "wait. YOU told the Lord?"

me: "uh.........."

ouch. so God has been dealing with me and continues to deal with me about this issue. i am thankful, however, that i have a friend who is willing to encourage me in this.

now go out and buy me something so i feel loved. =)