Real Precious Moments
Dan Kunz
Samuel J. Butcher, born in 1939 into an extremely poor family, was the originator of the Precious Moments artwork. His family was so poor that Sam scavenged discarded paper on which to practice his drawing. He always fondly remembered the Bible stories his grandmother would tell him and even painted scenes from the Bible as a child. Although originally created for greeting cards and posters, the teardrop-eyed children soon became the Precious Moments figurines known the world over. Just as the Bible stories that inspired them, they emphasize family, faith, and love.
When our daughter’s family was visiting recently, I had my own “precious moment” with my three-year-old grandson, Ezra. Early one morning I could hear him making noise in his Pack-n-Play, so I quietly opened his bedroom door and peeked in. He was lying on his tummy with his head up and crying a little. I bent over and rubbed his back. He put his head back down and drifted back to sleep for another twenty minutes. When he woke up for real, he and I went into the living room, since the rest of the family was still asleep. When I asked him if he wanted me to read him a book, he walked over to the end table and brought back a Bible story book with those “touch me” pages that have all the fun fabric and other things little kids can explore with their fingers. That was, indeed, a “precious moment”! The truth is, life is full of them. We just don’t always recognize them.
Ever since the advent of the first video cameras which families could afford, I’ve encouraged other people to use them for a very specific purpose. Of course, we all record birthdays, graduations, Christmases, and a whole slew of family “highlights”, but how often do we record the “stuff of life” as Henry David Thoreau once called it? Do you have a lot of videos of your kids eating breakfast, playing a board game, or shooting baskets in the backyard? If you’re like most people, you probably don’t, but that’s the majority of precious moments that make up life, especially with kids as they grow up. Someday, those might be the very images that you find hard to recall but would give anything to relive. Take advantage of technology to create your family’s own highlight reel. I once drove my mom around her old neighborhood and videotaped her telling what her childhood was like. Now that she’s enjoying heaven with her Savior, we can still enjoy her recorded memories.
Another precious moment worth mentioning is sharing your stories and your faith with your kids and grandkids. At the hectic pace we live our lives today, it’s easy to overlook the importance of letting them get to know you (and their family) better. A lot of people don’t really know their neighbors much today, and I fear they may not even know their families all that well, either. You may be surprised at the questions that your storytelling might elicit from your kids and grandkids. Take the time to create those precious moments, too. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “These words that I am commanding you are to be on your heart. Teach them diligently to your children, and speak about them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”