10,800 Days of Being a Mom

Happy Easter to you and your family! May your Sunday be full of promise and hope. May you leave your Easter service a changed person. 

Empty nests---no bunnies here.  Our Easter plans were firm and fun.  All eight of us here in ATX.  Then, someone threw more than one bunny wrench in the Easter plans and I'm home alone for Easter weekend for the first time E.V.E.R. 

Folding up the apron, sending all the kids off to college and marriage, no one home for such a Holiday, the silence is deafening to me. Brooke said I'm having a double case of emptynesters cause I was a mama for longer than most people have kids at home---like 30 years worth. That's 10,800 days living with children and I loved every single day, or parts thereof! It's been 233 days without children.  Look who's counting!

Brookie said I need to find a hobby like scrapbooking all those pictures I took over the lifetime. Funny how people think you don't have anything to do if you're an emptynester.  I have enough to do to last me a lifetime!  More goals than I can accomplish---that's not the problema.  Teaching full-time.  Counseling Courses. Continuing Education Classes. Leading bible studies. Writing. Speaking. Mentoring....On and On.  I even went to the Holy Land!

I've thought a lot about I Samuel 30:6 for this season of my life.  "David encouraged himself in the LORD."  I've spent my life surrounded by people I deeply loved and they are g.o.n.e. They've moved on to begin their own lives and that's good and right. For me, it's like going from living in the middle of Grand Central Station to an anechoic Silence Chamber (I googled it!). I want someone to shoot me with a paintball gun (really now!). I Want To: Step on a Lego.  Clean up spilled messes. Play hot wheels with a little boy. Make faces on sandwiches. Crawl in a kid's bed and pray with them. Throw water balloons off the balcony. Read Daniel in the Lion's Den to my boys. I want to take them on v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n.  Can I borrow your kid?

Manana, I get to celebrate the God I so ADORE and I cannot wait! I trained 8 weeks for tomorrow's service at Austin Stone to offer counseling at the end...so excited to serve! And, Bob will be preaching an Easter sermon!  Can't wait to see what God does.  Let's Celebrate God this Easter Sunday.  Sing together---everyone!  All you honest hearts, raise the roof, Psalm 32:11. 

I walked into the tomb where Jesus was buried in Jerusalem last November and looked right, just like it says in the Bible, and He was not there!  The stone was rolled away not to let Him out---He was already gone!  He let all humanity in when His Angel rolled away the stone.  And, One Day, He's coming again and will split humanity into those who followed Him and those who wouldn't.

So, I'm back to I Samuel 30:6.  This week has been so difficult and I was so looking forward to Easter with my family.  Didn't happen.  So how do you encourage yourself in the LORD when life sends you into a frenzy, a funk?  This text says that David took it all patiently and exercised faith in his God. How do you do that? Maybe, I'm asking the wrong question. It's not about "doing."  Not about figuring it out. David leaned hard on God's Power and Providence, whatever it is God IS providing for you.  He fell forward on God's faithfulness cause He won't ever walk away from us even though people have walked away from me.  David remembered God's Grace and God's Goodness. What comes to my mind this very moment about His Goodness to me? Think on that. 

David never lost hope that God would appear for him in some way or another and work it out.  Is my hope in God or in solutions?  Am I willing to live with problems unsolved, unconquered?  "David strengthened himself in the Word of His LORD."  What Word is God speaking to me?  Okay God, I'm setting my hope on your Grace, I Peter 1:13. Believing you for Isaiah 43:19. BEHOLD.  I will do something "new" for emptynesters.  David was brought low before he was raised up to the throne.  I'm pretty low, Dear God, but, I'm taking my encouragement from Your Word!