Have To

 Today we met up with a dear friend from our time in Edmonton. I was assigned to be her visiting teacher at church and we had littles all the same age. She always kindly invited us over for play dates and lunch and baked delicious treats. As our littles were boating and playing on the beach, we were able to have a nice visit together and catch up. She is battling cancer at the moment and is frustrated at how it keeps her from caring for her five young children the way she would like to. As I was telling her about how I am able to leave my children at home during this pandemic when I HAVE to go grocery shopping, she smiled and said, "Have to". I stumbled, "Well, I love grocery shopping, so I guess it's not a have to." She smiled. It wasn't until later in our conversation that she expressed how much she missed being able to go out and pick the groceries for her house and plan the meals. Then it clicked. My entire perspective changed after our afternoon together. As I've contemplated a lot of my "Have to's" they've been turned into "Get to's". Instead of grumbling that I have to make dinner, I think that it is a privilege to cook for my family. I get to be the one to wake up in the middle of the night and soothe a crying child. I get to wake up early and figure out breakfast. Life is so much more pleasant when we change our "Have to's" to "Get to's" and I am forever grateful to this dear friend for sharing her heart and reminding me of this!