Yesterday morning my middle daughter brought
a cup of coffee into my office, nestled into the couch, and said ‘Momma, you’re
sad’. Well, ‘maybe a little’, I replied. Later in the day, my youngest daughter passed
off her favorite hoodie that I ‘borrow’ from her closet way too often and gave
it to me.
This week marks the closing of a chapter and
the opening of another in the life of our family. All three of our daughters are moving out of
our home and into an apartment together.
My mind is flooded with memories and my heart is conflicted as I ponder
all that has encompassed 25 years of parenting.
After all, isn’t this what we have prepared them for? Two of them have graduated with a college degree
and are employed with great jobs, and the third is in her second year of
college. They are all followers of Jesus
Christ and are held in the grip of His grace.
What could be more important? Shouldn’t
I be thrilled?
I suppose it’s all of the little things. Who will notice on those difficult days when
their hearts are heavy – that they probably just need a hug, encouraging word,
or chocolate brownie? Who will remind them
that are beautifully created on days that they don’t feel pretty? Who will encourage them to eat vegetables
more regularly than donuts? Who will
remind them that they matter and are dearly loved, come what may? Who will tell them over and over again that
God’s promises are true, that the Kingdom of God is at hand and that every day
is filled with opportunity to be agents of His grace? Who will take seriously that their holiness is
far more important than their happiness? Isn’t this what parents are for?
As the Director of Wholistic Care for World
Orphans, I spend a lot of time thinking about the needs of children and the significance
of belonging that is communicated through family. As my husband and I have invested in providing
for the essential needs of our children (physically, emotionally, spiritually,
and mentally), I am confounded by the immense opportunity that the church has
to participate in seeing orphaned and vulnerable children cared for in the
context of family.
World Orphans Home Based Care program is a
beautiful illustration of how this is being accomplished through the church. We would love for your church to engage in
this great work where churches are partnering together from across the globe,
children are being restored, and communities are being transformed by the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. http://www.worldorphans.org/church-to-church-model.php
My home is quieter this morning. I am wearing my new hoodie and I am considering
that in all of the years that I have strived to care for and ‘see’ my children,
that they are now ‘seeing others', to include their Momma. Children are truly a heritage from the Lord.
