An Unexpected Gift of the "Empty Nest"

I had not dreaded the empty nest like a lot of mothers do. I love my children more than the next breath I breathe ... but I want them to grow up. I won't be here forever and I desire for them to be independent and have a life in place long before I fall asleep in Jesus. And also ... I will be 56 in little over a month ... so it's time to empty the nest!

One thing I had not anticipated as the empty nest was approaching was how anxious I would become to simplify! I want to get rid of "stuff"! Good stuff that someone in a different stage of life than I am in might want. If Tyler only had his own apartment instead of sharing a furnished one with a friend ... I would load him up!! If Russell moves out of the dorm next year into an apartment ---- I'll pack a U Haul!!

When Buddy and I first started out, we really required very little by the standards of 1978, much less than by the standards of today. At that time, I never in a million years imagined that we would amass the "stuff" we have over these last 31 years! What I am finding out now is ... we really don't need or want all this "stuff". If you're honest the truth is you don't own your things, they begin to own you.

The time might come before too long where I find out if this desire to simplify is indeed a true desire. Buddy very unexpectedly got laid off in an overhaul of his former company back in November. I'm thinking maybe God has been preparing me for what lies ahead. I'm thinking that maybe He has something for me to do and I need to shuck off the "stuff". I'm excited at the prospect! Stay tuned!

I'll Keep My Joy

For the last 15 years or so of my mother's life she often said, "I don't let anything or anyone steal my joy for very long" . Those are words to live by. She accepted joy as a gift from her Savior ... a gift she knew was hers to keep.
I have spent a lot of years trying to "fix things" ... probably more accurately trying to "fix" people (including myself). Recently, I have begun to understand in deeper measures that undertaking unassigned tasks is a sure way to reduce, if not eliminate, the gift of joy we as believers rightly own. As I grow in my faith and knowledge, I am beginning to grasp what tasks are mine and what tasks are not. "Fixing" is not our assignment. Trusting God to "fix" is.