Time and love are gifts that ought never be taken for granted. I was reminded of this watching a short clip of the Little League World Series. You can watch the clip here. A coach, who also happened to be the father of the pitcher in the game, came out to the mound simply to tell his son he loved him. The kid was struggling a little bit with his pitching, but his dad wanted him to know what was most important. Get the tissues ready when you watch it.

The clip hit close to home. I coached baseball for thirteen years. Our son was on every one of the teams that I coached. I have to admit that there were times that I was harder on him than other members of the team. I overcompensated to show them and their parents that there would be no nepotism or favoritism.

But the one reason I coached all those years was so that I could spend quality time with my son. I’ll never forget all the time we had in the car on the way to and from games to talk about things (or to simply sit quietly). I will always treasure the trips to Culver’s after the games with the rest of the team. No one could ever take away from us the joys and sorrows, the ups and downs, we had as coach and player for the same team.

That dad on the mound of the Little League World Series reminded me just how much I love my son and just how quickly time slips away. The last game we had together as coach and player was a loss in our area high school playoffs. It was heart breaking. There were tears shed (yes, even my own). It was the end of an era.

Now our son lives nearly eleven hours away from us. We talk on the phone almost every day, but it’s much more difficult to go out in the front yard and throw the baseball around. Next time we get together we’re going to have to make it a point to do that.

Time and love are precious gifts. Here’s how to appreciate them:

1. Do like the Little League coach and tell the people you love that you do. Say it out loud. Even if it’s in the middle of the Little League World Series on the pitchers mound.
2. Be mindful of appreciating each day. Sure, there may be arguments or disagreements, but at the end of the day love still remains. Before you know it the little catcher behind the plate will be getting married.
3. Honor the people you love with the gift of time. It’s a greater commodity than money, riches, or things. Time spent together can never be taken away. Toys break and money gets spent. Memories last forever.
4. Receive time and love as the gifts that they are. When people want to give you those things, don’t deny them the opportunity. They should be treasured above all other earthly things.
5. Be generous with time and love. There is far too little of either of them in this world. You can never give too much time or love to those near and dear…and even those not so near and dear. The gift of those two things could just change lives and relationships.

How will you intentionally appreciate the gifts of time and love today?