Even
though I tried to steer away from the puddles, I still got my new shoes wet
anyway. We had just gotten a good soaking rain and I was trying to make my way
into work. The large umbrella over my head, was not helping to keep my shoes
dry. Instead of thanking God for the rain, I chose to grumble about the
puddles.
Have you
ever noticed that when we are going on with our day to day busyness, that
sometimes we focus on things that we should not? We soak our brains with things
of this world and forget to fill our brains with God’s love and His promises.
Sure, I
pray. But there are times I realize as I have been saying the words that my
mind wanders. Have you ever done that? It really frustrates me when my mind
goes off on its own tangent. My prayer has just become words with no meaning. Jesus
told His disciples in Matthew 6, “And when you pray, you shallnot be
like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on
the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men….And whenyou pray
do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think they will be
heard by their many words.” This
type of prayer is not one to soak my spirit. Our stomachs tell us when we need
to fill them. Why are we so willing to dehydrate or spirits and souls by just
saying words that have no meaning?
The
scriptures tell us that our prayers can accomplish so much when we ask in
faith. James 5:15 tells us “The prayer of faith will save the sick.”
Also, in verse 16 of the same chapter, James tells us “The effective fervent
prayer of a righteousman avails much.”
Let me share with you of something that happened to a dear friend of
mine. She has stage four cancer in a large part of her body. We as a collective
body at church and also in our own personal prayers, have been praying for her.
She has been on a special cancer treatment just for her. She got amazing news
that ALL of the tumors had shrunk to half of the size they originally were!
Praise God! She still has stage four cancer, but is much improved. Prayer does
work! Prayer, when we are not just saying the words to impress others. When we
focus on what we are saying to God, we can see what can happen when we pray!
When my mind wanders and I lose focus, I am just saying words. We should not
just pray when the bad things of this earth happen, but every day, several
times a day, reaching out to God in love and praise!
When the
earth has become dry, because of lack of rain, it takes a good soaking to even
let the dust settle. Sometimes, because of our lack of focus in our prayers,
our souls do not get the good soaking we need. When we don’t pray like we
should our souls become parched, our spirits become dehydrated, because we are
trying to walk on our own and “dodge the puddles.”
When I
realize my mind has wandered off in another direction, I try to get my focus
back on my Savior. I remember Jesus died on the cross with His arms wide open
giving me a way to become a child of His, and a way to come to His mercy seat
through prayer.
When my
life becomes just one big blur, I need to remind myself to slow down and feel
the good soaking that my Savior can give me through His word, meditation and
prayer. It is during these times when I am so busy with things of this world,
that I have started focusing on living the small story of my life here on
earth, instead of the bigger story of my life eternal.
Rearrange
your priority list and put God back as number one! When we can do that, then we
can close our umbrella of this world, “kick off our shoes” and stand in the
middle of the down pour and become soaked in His love and guidance.
Thank
you, God for giving us this privilege to come before you, bare our souls and
feel the welcome of the good soaking downpour of Your love!
Have you
ever thought that God created you for a purpose? My purpose is not your
purpose! Your purpose is not my purpose! Has God given us one purpose or has He
given us many purposes? Have you realized your purpose? Do we even realize when
we are fulfilling our purpose? Is that important? What if we fail to act upon
something that fills our heart, that was one of our purposes? Too many
questions you are thinking!
The word
purpose in Webster’s dictionary means: “an object or result aimed at.”
Sometimes, we can see clearly a certain purpose that God has given us. Let me
give you an example in my life. The church I attend, several years ago, went
through a huge transition of people leaving for various reasons, some passed
away and some people moved elsewhere. But then, new people started coming and
placing membership at church. I think back to the difficult ten-year span of my
life when my husband was sick and all the challenges that faced us. Many of the
people who attended church back then, helped me through those years. I can
think of so many who have passed away that were my strength and encouragement.
There are several amazing friends who have moved out of state, who were there
for me and also for my husband. They made me laugh in the midst of the turmoil and
reminded me that God was always by my side. They were amazing friends to my
husband and gave him some peace. They helped push the pain out, by me being
able to talk to them about what was going on. They just sat and listened to me,
I knew that they would not turn around and gossip. I miss all of them so much!
(If there are any of you reading this, thank you for taking time out of your
busy lives to help us during that difficult time.)
As I
mentioned, there have been so many new faces and families now that have become
my church family. I had a “light bulb moment” a few years ago. I realized that
maybe I was in their lives right now to help them with challenges
that they may be facing! Wow! I had many God given purposes during my
difficult years that I can look back now and see, but now maybe this is a God
given purpose for right now in my life! A purpose to give peace, hope, clarity
and encouragement for others! Thus, starting my blog and publishing my new
ladies Bible class book, “God’s Beauty Plan.”
There is
a book in the Old Testament called Esther. It is a quick read, only ten chapters.
It is full of so many lessons. It is the only book in the Bible that does not
mention God, but He is everywhere within the book! This is the story of an
orphan girl named Esther, who was raised by her cousin, Mordecia. Through a
series of events, she becomes queen of the King Xerxes, of Persia. Esther was a
Jew, but did not tell the king. As in most good stories, there was a bad guy
named Haman. As prime minister of Persia, everyone was to bow down before him
when he passed. Esther’s cousin, Mordecia, refused to do so. This made Hamen so
angry that he asked Xerxes to command that all the Jews in this region, be
annihilated (old, young, little children, male and female.)
When
queen Esther, found out about this, (through Mordecia) she was urged by him to
go before the king and plead for the salvation of the Jewish race in this
region. You and I might think how easy that would be to go before your husband
and talk to him. But during this time in history, she could be killed if the
king had not called her. Esther 4:11 “…any man or woman who goes into theinner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law; put
all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter that
he may live.” Mordecai said in verse 13-14 “…do not think in your heart
that youwill escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other
Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance
will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house
will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for SUCH A TIME
AS THIS?” Mordecai was telling her that she would be put to death, just
like all the other Jews. But he had faith in his heart that God would deliver
the Jews during this time, whether Esther had courage to go before the king or
not. The next part touches my heart deeply and should yours as well-he says,
for SUCH A TIME AS THIS! Mordecai is telling her, maybe she had been put into
this situation, by God, to fulfill His purposes in her life!
Wow!
Think about that! Have you been born during this time in history, to fulfill
one of God’s purposes? Maybe God is calling you to step out of our comfort zone
and reach out in courage. Maybe your faith is being tested. Maybe you need to
exercise your faith in order to fulfill God’s purpose or purposes. Is there
something in your life you have felt you needed to do or get done and you keep
putting it off? Maybe it is as simple as a card, a call, a meal to a family
having a hard time, inviting a neighbor to church services, a visitor made to
feel welcome or a hospital visit made. There are many simple things we can do
that maybe are fulfilling our purpose given by God. But maybe there are also
“larger” things we are meant to accomplish, but are held back by our lack of
courage and faith! Do you have anything that has been tugging at your heart and
you are scared to take that first step? In my life, getting in front of women to
give a speech or teach a class, is definitely out of my comfort zone! But “God
nudged me” and now, I know that my experiences can and do help other women to
have hope, thru God, in the middle of their daily challenges.
Are you
being held back by your lack of faith? Maybe you were put in this church to
fulfill a purpose that God has given you. If you think about all of the people
in the world and all of the years, that have been and will be, our lives are
just a small speck in God’s history of time. Let’s remember, it is no accident
you were born at this time in history, in a particular church family, in a
specific job or in a specific person’s life. God has a purpose or purposes for
each and every one of us! Don’t let a lack of faith and courage stop you from
fulfilling those God given purposes. Don’t let a lack of confidence in yourself
hold you back. If God brings you to it, He will help you through it!
You are important! God created you! Every day is important! Have faith to step
out in a God-given confidence knowing He is right there with you! And just as
Mordecai told Esther, God may have created you “FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS!”
Where I
work as a receptionist, there are some “interesting” characters we see from
time to time, on the sidewalks in front of our building. One lady would just
holler at some imaginary person. One day she actually poured salt all over her
head. Was she trying to get rid of some evil spirit or was that some type of
strange thoughts in her head that she wanted to do? She would come into our
practice and ask for free cat litter. Did she have an imaginary cat or a real
one? We never found out. We have not seen her for awhile so we hope she found
some help to quench the unsettling thoughts she had. This week, we saw another
lady, who was on the sidewalk across the street, doing an exercise routine. We
thought that was part of her walk she took every day. But when she started
walking on an imaginary balance beam and talking to the bench, we knew that was
not the case. She would take out running down the sidewalk screaming at the top
of her lungs like she was in some type of race. Both of these women, thought
what they were doing is normal. Those of us watching her, were not for sure.
What is
the meaning of normal? Webster’s dictionary defines normal & norm as: “sound
in mind or body-of average intelligence-a set of standarddevelopment or
achievement derived from the actions of a large group of people.” From that definition, maybe what is normal to
me is not normal toyou! Normal comes from the same regular actions of a
group of people. We each give a different meaning to normal. I have a normal
routine I do in the morning when I am getting up. I do the same thing over and
over. At work, we have changed the way we clock in and out. We use to do it on
our phones and now we clock in from one of the computers. So, I have forgotten
to clock in, because when I get up front, I might have to start helping someone
and forget that I am not actually clocked in on the time clock. I have had to
change my normal routine to accommodate the changes that have been made at
work. I have had to start a new normal.
We all agree that the actions of the two women
I just talked about, are not normal. They were living in their normal of what
their thoughts were telling them to do. We feel that we want to help people
like that to transform them to the normal thought patterns that we have. My
boys when they were little, had transformers. I am sure most of you who have
children, know exactly what I am talking about. The toy that, when moved
around, would take a different shape and be transformed into something else.
When we chose to follow God, we have to transform, change, our minds and
actions away from the sinful, worldly actions that we were or did before we
made the choice to follow God. The Bible talks about this in 2 Corinthians
3:18. “But we all with unveiled face, beholdingas a mirror the glory
of the Lord, are being transformed in the same image from glory to glory, just
as by the Spirit of the Lord.” As
believers behold the glory ofthe Lord, by reading the scriptures, we
become transformed or changed to strive to be more like Jesus. Of course, we
will never be like Jesus who was perfect, but we should strive to be better and
more like Him in all we do.
Another
scripture is in Romans 12:1-5, reads “I beseech you, therefore brethren,by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that
you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I
say through the grace give to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of
himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has
dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body,
but all the members do not have the same function, so we being many, are one
body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”
These
verses tell me that we should strive everyday to serve and obey God. In the
last set of verses: holy means-set apart for the Lord’s use; acceptable
means-pleasing to God; reasonable means-God has given us so many gifts, and the
normal reaction to this is to serve Him. A person who is conformed to this world,
follows other people to do evil or follows every person that is different to
believe what they believe. They mold their lives to not think for themselves
and they do not stand against what the devil throws at us each and every day.
Instead of following the values of this world, the believer should be
transformed or changed away from those values. This transformation begins in
the mind and heart. We have to change. A mind that is dedicated to do the
things of this world, will only produce a life of a person who follows
everything others tell them to do and will be tossed around in the culture they
live in. But when we transform our minds, to dedication to our God, we can
stand against all the trials we might face in this earthly life. We have the
center of our lives-God. These verses also, compare the many members of our
physical body like the-foot-hand-eyes, to the fact that we as individuals are
not all the same. We have our own personalities. Our own talents. Our own
purpose. God created each one of us unique, to fulfil His purposes for our
lives. It would be very boring in deed if in this world we all were the same.
Throughout time, God has shown how He has used certain personalities for
certain purposes. In the Old Testament, there are many different personalities
that fulfilled different purposes. Job-David-Joseph-Esther-Hannah and so many
more. If you are not familiar with these I mentioned, search in your Bible to
see how God used them to fulfill a certain purpose.
What is
normal for one person is not normal for another. When my husband passed away,
everything changed in my world. My physical life became totally different. I
felt a type of confusion-a type of not knowing how to go ahead into the unknown
future. At the time, I was writing for another woman’s website and talked about
my husband’s death and how everything had changed. I got a response from one
lady, that I will never forget, who said I had to find a new normal. The normal
I was use to living, had changed or transformed. I had another direction for my
life, that I had to make choices and follow. It took me a while to understand
what my new normal was, but I realized that different seasons of our lives our
normal might change here on earth. But our spiritual normal needs to keep growing
and might take us to different challenges given us by God. For instance, in my
life, the two books I have published and the blog I have started.
Each one
of us has a normal life we live. But if we are following the world, then we
need to understand and change that normal. We need to transform into what God
wants us to have as our normal. I have always enjoyed going to venues where
Patsy Clairmont was and reading her many books. One of them is called “Normal
is Just a Setting on your Dryer.” There are so many settings we could use. Some
are for delicate items. Some are for heavy loads. Some are for wrinkle release.
I know that I use the permanent press & the normal setting most often. Just
like the different settings on the dryer, we all are different. We look
different, we act different. We are all in different seasons of our lives and
may have had to find a new normal. Are we normal? Well, I like to think I am.
But, of course, that is my viewpoint.
The two
women I talked about at the beginning, did not seem to have normal behavior in
our definition of normal. This physical life presents many challenges and
changes. We need to transform our thinking and actions towards the Lord. He is
the only one who can help us find our normal in this world.
Maybe you
feel like you need to find a new normal in your life, because things have
changed. Maybe you have been letting your normal be the same as the worlds. You
have let the world define what normal is-conformed your thinking. Maybe you are
trying to find what your new normal is after a tragedy in your life. If you are
stuck in the normal of this world, reach out to God for a new normal. God can
help you transform away from the world. We just have to reach out to Him. So,
the only kind of new normal that is truly acceptable to God, is one of
following His word and obeying His commands. When happenings of this world
change your normal, reach out to God. He is always there! Stop conforming to
this world’s definition of normal. Transform your thoughts and life to a new
normal of living for God!
Well, my
son (who lives with me) went and did it! He got a six-month-old golden
retriever puppy! Those of you who have ever had a puppy realize there is a lot
that goes with that energetic ball of fur. I had a headache yesterday and tried
to lay down and take a nap before work. You notice I said I tried! He kept
getting down and getting into something. So, I put his leash on him and got him
up on the bed. Then I started to gently scratch his head, his face and his
legs, just like I use to do to get my human babies and grandbabies to try to
get them to be still. It worked! It calmed him down and he drifted asleep. I
closed my eyes and semi-slept as I knew how much trouble he could get himself
into if I went into a deep sleep. He really is a good puppy and did not take
long for me to fall in love with him. (If any of you who know me well are
thinking, what about your baby dachshund you are getting in the spring? Well, no
worries, I am still getting one and looking forward to her. I am sure there
will be a few blogs coming in the future about her shenanigans!)
Being still! That is hard for energetic children, puppies or kittens. But
have you ever realized that it is hard for us as adult humans to be still also?
We live in a technological time in history. So many things to help us save
time, but then we pile on more things to do. In pioneer times, they had to wash
and dry their dishes. We have dish washers. They had to wash their clothes and
then hang them out on the clothesline. We have washers and dryers. They had to
go out and catch the chicken, kill it, then pluck the feathers off. Then cook
it on a wood stove that they had chopped that wood. We go to the store and buy
chicken that has already been cut up, even the skins taken off. Then we put it
in the oven that we only have to turn a nob to get it to come on. Or we have bought a frozen dinner and just
have to follow the directions and put in the microwave. I just recently got
home from visiting my daughter. I got on an airplane and flew thousands of
miles to get to her. In pioneer days, when a daughter left in the covered
wagon, the mother and daughter realized that they might never see each other
again in this life. We are blessed that we can actually text back and forth,
talk on the phone and skype, actually seeing each other. I am so thankful for these
time saving inventions! It makes my life so much easier. But yet, even after
all those time saving things, we end up in bed ready to go asleep and are so
“keyed” up, because we are so tired and stressed after a busy, long day of
physical and mental activities. We just lay there and stare at the ceiling.
Then, we realize that we did not save any time to be still with our God!
Let’s
look at a few illustrations in the Bible that help us to remember that God
wants us to be still and just meditate, read the scriptures, pray and think
about God. After all, He is who actually created men and women with amazing
minds that they can figure out how to save us time with these inventions.
Psalm 139:17-18, “How precious are Your thoughts
to me, O God! How great isthe sum of them! If I should count them, they
would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.”
God is telling us to be still with Him first thing in the morning. If you do
not have time to read scriptures or your daily devotional then, there are still
things you can do to be still with your God during the day. When you get in the
shower, talk to God from your heart and pray for others and your day ahead.
While you are driving, pray to God about that person who “flew” in front of you
and you almost ran into him. Pray about that person on the corner who is down on
their luck and asking for money. When you take your walk, don’t walk reading
all your text messages or Facebook. Put your phone in your pocket and look
around you at the amazing creations God has given us. I try to pray for one
member of my family or someone at church who is going through a difficult time,
while taking my walk. It gives me peace and energy to face whatever the future
holds! Be Still!
Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know I am God. I
will be exalted among the nations; Iwill be exalted in the earth!”
When we stop and think about God, we realize we can do anything through His
power and might! Just stop, breathe and think about the blessings God has given
you. Praise Him in the middle of the storms of life, because no matter what you
are going through, God is always right by your side helping you take one foot
in front of the other. We need to praise Him, knowing that heaven will be
waiting for us after we die. God should be our everything, in any joy or sorrow
of our lives here on earth. Be Still!
1 Kings 19:11-13, “Then He (God) said, ‘Go
out, and stand on the mountainbefore the Lord.’ And behold, the Lord
passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the
rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after
the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the
earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a STILL
SMALL VOICE. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his
mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave (where he had
been hiding). Suddenly, a voice came to him, and said, ‘What are you doing
here Elijah?” We have all felt and
heard the power that the wind whistling through the trees has; the power to destroy
trees, property and lives. My brother was in an earthquake in California. He
saw all the power that earthquake had and the noise associated with it. I have
never personally been in a devastating fire, but because of the recent fires in
several states, we have all seen the devastation and noise that a fire creates.
The loudness and power of the wind, earthquake, and fire did not signal to
Elijah that he was in the presence of God; even though we know that God is in
the midst of that power. But it was not until all got quiet, that Elijah truly
heard God. In the middle of a hurricane, is what is called the eye of the
storm. The hurricane is swirling causing devastation. In the middle of it, is
peace-calm-beauty. God is not just a God of the spectacular, but also in the
quiet-gentleness-stillness of our lives! He is always and has always been with
us. If we let Him, He can help us find that calmness, that peace in the middle
of our storms of this life. We just need to reach out & up to Him! Be Still!
We have
all of these time saving inventions to help us along our path on this earth. I
am thankful for them! But we need to encircle ourselves with God. We need to be
able to turn to Him and hear the still small voice that He gives us in the
quiet times. If we don’t have a quiet time, make one. My daughter, quiets her
little ones after baths and before bedtime, by a little snack and watching a
cartoon. They are to be quiet! This helps their energetic little bodies to calm
down, to be still! We need to calm ourselves down by all the thoughts about
what all I need to do today and tomorrow, and take a deep breath. Be still and
think about our God! Then, we can get our priorities straight, catch our breath
and focus on what is truly important. In those quiet times, I feel God’s
presence. I do not believe that the Bible tells us that God talks to us directly-physically
like He did in Bible times, but I feel the presence, His voice, through
studying His word and when I stop and just let myself be engulfed in His love. Be still!
God’s way
of calming us, to get us to be still, is not like I talked about at the
beginning of this blog; by gently scratching, as I have done with my son’s new
dog or my children & grandchildren. God’s way is for us to read &
meditate on His word, the Bible. If you only have time for one verse each day,
that is good. A great start! Think about that verse during your busyness of
your day. Of course, you still have to work outside and inside the home. Sometimes
I get so stressed at work or home. I have found at those times, if I take a
deep breath to calm me and I turn my thoughts to a favorite verse or particular
verse, I had read that morning or evening; that all of a sudden, my thoughts are
still and I am thinking of my God and His promises! When the disciples and
Jesus were in a boat in Mark 4, there came a great storm. Jesus, who had been
asleep, in verse 39, tells the wind “…Peace, be still…” God is in control! We just have to learn
how to Be still in His presence!
If you
have a new puppy, take my advice and try gently scratching them to get them to
settle down and be still. The same concept applies to us. Let the “gentle
scratching” of reading, thinking, praying and meditating about God, cause us to
stop, breath and remember that God IS in the spectacular, but He is also in the
quietness of our lives! That is when we can truly focus on Him and His
promises!
Be Still! Try it sometime. You will realize the joy and peace that it
can bring through God!
Looking
out my airplane window I saw sailboats on the ocean. They looked like white
dots in the great expanse of the blue. I had just left my four grandchildren,
daughter and son-in-law. What fun we had and my heart had been filled with so much
joy while spoiling them! But as I looked at those white spots in that massive
ocean, I felt so sad and so tired. Those little white spots were like the
actual amount of time that I got to be with my little one’s ages 10-8-5 and 8
months. I try to go about every six months. That week had sailed by so quickly.
Time has a way of doing that, doesn’t it?
Leaving
is so hard, tears are shed. But all those years of being my daughter’s mother,
prepared her to “fly out of my nest.” Isn’t that what we do as young mothers?
Prepare them for being on their own, with their own families?
We must
lean on God, when they leave us, giving them to God. We feel we have done all
we could, even though we have made many mistakes, we feel we have done the best
we could-with what time we had-with what we had. Sure, we make mistakes but we
hope those mistakes have become a tool which our children can grow on and from.
Those
feelings of sadness over flying miles apart from my daughter, made me think of
another time that those feelings of sadness overtook my heart. My daughter
excelled in high school and played sports. Upon her graduation from high
school, she received so many scholarships for college. She had worked hard for
them. She made a decision to go to a Christian college in Florida. In Florida,
her family here in Missouri! My husband was not able to make the drive because
of his health issues. My parents offered to help us get her there. They drove
their car and my daughter drove hers-both cars packed, taking up every available
inch in both cars.
I will
never-ever- forget the pain in my heart that I felt when I told her goodbye. As
I have said in another blog, she was a surprise gift from God. She gave me so
much joy, especially in those dark years with my husband’s physical and mental
illness. Here I was going off and leaving her so far away from me. I had told
my parents to leave me alone after dropping her off, because I was going to cry
when we drove away. I did!
Where had
all the time gone? I know there are many of you reading this who are going
through leaving your kids at college and I know it is hard! Your control is
gone. So many questions. Do they get up and go to class? Will they go to
parties and be up all night? Will they remember all the values that you have
tried to give them all their lives? Will they be safe? So many questions and
worries in our hearts!
Speaking
from my experience, I have some things I want you to think about.
You have prepared them all of their
lives, to let them go, for this special time when they learn what it means to
be an adult. Their faith will be tested. You cannot go back and change any
mistakes you made. In Philippians 3:13, Paul reminds us, “…forgetting those
things which arebehind and reaching forward to those things which are
ahead.” Put one foot in front of the other. Go forward. Don’t get stuck in
the past land of what ifs.
It is time for them to leave the
nest. An eagle pushes out their young from the nest, when she feels they are
ready to fly. She hovers over them to swoop in to catch them if they start to
fall. That is the same way we as parents should be. Be their encourager-give
them courage that they can do this-be there for them when they fall, just like
we were when they fell and skinned their knees. Read Ecclesiastes 3. Verses 1-2
read, “Toeverything there is a season, A time for every purpose
under heaven.” Seasons come and they go. It is time to let go.
Lean on God’s truths. Be courageous,
helping your child to have courage for this new stepping stone of their lives!
There are so many scriptures you can turn to that remind us of that. Joshua 1:9
reads, “…Be strong andof good courage, do not be afraid nor be
dismayed, for the Lord your Godis with you wherever you go.” Isaiah
41:10 reads, “Fear not, for I am withyou. Be not dismayed, for I am
your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I willhelp you. I will uphold you
with My righteous right hand.” You can do this!
Finally, let yourself cry-grieve.
This is one season of your life into another. Our sadness comes from what we
have always known in the past and the uncertainty of what the future holds.
Allow yourself to be sad. Go into their room and feel the stillness-the
emptiness. But after a period of time you will realize that life goes on. It
might be different-no more shoes on the stairs to trip over-no more stinky
socks-no more music coming from their room that seems so loud that it shakes
the house. It is going to be ok!
You will always remember these new changes in this season of
your life. Each and every stage of life we will have joys and sorrows. You are
going to be ok as long as you lean on the good Lord above. Psalm 91:12 says “For
He will give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.”
Reach out to God. He is just right there ready to help you.
Those sailboats that were little white dots in that huge blue
ocean, remind me that we have such little time on this earth. Each season is
fleeting.
What I have to say to you parents packing up your kids for
college is-hang in there-find the joy in this season-you will cry, but don’t
hold onto that sorrow-you have got this-take courage! God is watching over
them. This phase of your life is just like those little dots of sailboats in
that massive ocean. It will go fast and then, you will be loving on those
grandbabies, just like I did. I have always thought sailboats are pretty in the
water. This season of your life can also be beautiful. Make the best of each moment!
You have prepared them for this season of their lives and whether you realize
it or not, you have prepared yourself for this season in your life. You’ve got
this!
