All Things New

First day of school. New teachers, new backpacks, new schedules. New, new, new. So hard for me to feel comfortable with new. But “new” is a God thing, right? He makes all things new. The old has gone, the new has come. Lord, help me embrace “new” and not fight it with all that’s within me.

First day of having four kids in school all day long. It’s been 14 years in the making. But it has not snuck up on me. I have prayed, pondered, planned for the past year. The gift of time is always a blessing, and I will use it well. I’m yours, Lord.

First day dropping off my first grader for the whole day. For six years, she has been like my extra appendage. She is a hand-holder and has been at the end of my wrist every day of her life. There have been times when I had to remind myself, running through school dropping off big kids or dashing through the grocery store, that this is not a piece of luggage I’m attached to. This is my sweet Camryn girl, so aware of my feelings, and today she becomes a big kid. Oh, God, help me hold it together so that she’s focused on what’s ahead of her and not what (or who) she’s leaving behind. 

As a mom of older kids, I now know what I never would have believed during all those hard, blurry days at home with babies and toddlers. These firsts are gone in an instant. I’ll just start to find my rhythm, and it will be Fall Break. A stone’s throw from there and it’s that Thanksgiving/Christmas merry-go-round where we can hardly catch our breaths. January to March always seems like it will be a long stretch, but before you know it, your Christmas candy has turned into Valentine’s candy that somehow becomes pastel-colored Easter candy. The six weeks between Spring Break and the end of school are the fastest of all, and before you know what hit you, you’re preparing for summer camps and loading up the kids’ drawers with shorts and tank tops again. Young moms, it’s true! The second they step foot in an elementary school, our kids are in hyperspeed, and it never slows down again. It. Goes. So. Fast.

Be with the moms today, Lord. The kids will be fine. They might be nervous or a little whiny, but at the end of the day, they’ll be loud and happy and hungry. It’s the moms I pray for. Give us Transition Grace. You make all things new. 

August 10 and Thoughts on Stewardship

One year ago today we took possession of our house. For 364 days, I’ve pulled up in the driveway only to be met by those giddy little butterflies in my stomach reminding me the place is still here, and it’s still ours. For a good couple months it felt temporary, kinda like when you stay at a friend’s condo conveniently located next to a ski slope or a beach. Except this one was oh-so conveniently located next to our school. I had to remind myself that we were here to stay, that this blessing was only going to get better as we pealed away the old wall paper, tiled the dining room, planted raspberry bushes in our yard. God has given us this place not just to stay in but to live in.

Along with the blessing of getting to live here comes the opportunity to be good stewards of the blessing. As we prayed for our house, I was envisioning more than just a place to sleep in and hold our stuff. I desired a place where we could do the things closest to God’s heart, things like fellowshipping, loving, praying, laughing until our sides hurt.

I know us well enough to know our house will never be well furnished or decorated. There will always be eye sores and dust bunnies and piles that battle for control of the kitchen countertops. (Where on earth do the rest of you put your piles? Pile-free houses bewilder me!) I would love to hang a sign on my front door that says, “If you came to see my house, please come back in three days. If you came to see me, come on in!”

But despite all that, are we stewarding it well? It’s been fun to think about all that’s taken place here in the past year. We’ve hosted holiday meals and spontaneous game nights at our house. We’ve had long visits from old friends and cozy dinners with new friends. We’ve had a steady stream of kids munching in our kitchen, skating in our driveway, sword-fighting on our porch, and go-karting through our weeds. We’ve had Bible studies for girls and prayer meetings for moms. We’ve had people stop by on their way to school or sports practices to use the bathroom or fill their water bottles. No one’s stopped by for a nap yet, but I hope they will! And just last week we had eight teenage boys running through our field hurling paintballs and rotten fruit at one another. Watching them do what boys do in a place that was made for boys to do it? I just wanted to climb to the rooftop and scream: “It is well with my soul!”

We are just where God wants us, and I believe we’re living the way He wants us to live. We don’t do it perfectly or nearly as well as some people, and it does take a lot of effort. It’s hard work shutting out that voice in my head that tells me my house isn’t clean enough or perfect enough, harder than sweeping and dusting and cleaning the bathrooms. But stewardship is never easy. I don’t think it’s supposed to be. That’s kind of the point.

What about the gifts in your life? Are you stewarding them well?