There are pieces scattered about. Remnants still of the going away party. The wooden palette backdrop daddy made and the boys helped decorate. We spent a little too much time in Hobby Lobby for the right decor. And here it sits. Reminding me of the day I felt so overwhelmed with so much to do standing in Hobby Lobby with you shopping for so many last minute things.
And it’s all done already.
Now it is just an empty backdrop that was filled just a week ago with smiling faces and phones snapping pics and friends all wishing you well.
I looked outside this morning so saw the badminton net. And I flashed to all the family games we played this summer after dinner. All the laughs. As the mosquitoes began to bite, there we would play until the last glimpse of light was left and evening fell. I can still hear the crickets coming out and the frogs peeping signaling that it was time to go inside. Then we’d go into the house and eat ice cream and stay up way too late. You’d come in our room and you’d all pile on our bed. Teenagers! Who would have believed they’d still pile on our bed. And we loved it. Oh, how I miss it.
I was thinking about this stage of life. Every other stage of parenthood and childhood sort of happens slowly. The transformation of a newborn into an infant. They start to roll, then crawl, then toddle about. Then a toddler turns into a child. And then a teen into a tween. It’s sort of gradual process and a slow loss of the last season. Sometimes we longed for the last season, but we never realized it until we were in the next, because they all sort of melded together, ever so slowly, not realizing where one ended and the next began.
But this time it’s so abrupt. One minute we’re playing badminton and shopping for party supplies and the next day you’re living in a new state with new people. You’ve gone from a teenager and high school senior to a college freshman and young adult seemingly overnight.
I know that this transition is necessary and part of life. And the school she is attending is more perfect than I ever dreamed. (More on that in the future)
But even though it’s all good, my mama heart just needs time to adjust. Grieve a little. And even be excited in the midst of all that pain. I don’t ever remember a time of my life when I can go from crying sobbing sad tears to joyous ones in minutes. But that’s what this stage does to you.
And cleansing tears. They really are cleansing tears. They need to be shed. And soon, we will have a new rhythm and a new season as we go through this journey of life.
This kind of change once again brings into light what is truly important in life. Your perspective changes greatly. And my quest to live simply so I can focus on what matters most is greater than ever. I have seen this week what truly matters.
May we never hold so tightly to one season we don’t move into the next.
That’s my prayer for today. In this moment. Because in my flesh I want to hold on tight. Yet, God wants us to hold loosely to everything. He always has something better and new in-store.
So I cling to that promise expectantly. Even if it hurts a little letting go.
This morning there was a brilliant sunrise. What a gift to remind me that each day, each season, brings a new and promise-filled time of hope and joy and excitement. Because living for God is what it is all about and His mercies are new each day.
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