How are you with change? With saying goodbye, or leaving what’s familiar? Somehow, that is not something that comes easy to most of us. I think as a Mom, the hardest thing in your life is "letting go". That first day of kindergarten, the day they get the driver’s license, the year they move off to college. Yet these are the milestones that are expected, and you see them coming.
But how are you with the unexpected ones? A friend moves away, a relationship changes, someone dies, you lose a job, a person that was once a part of your life isn’t there anymore, you fill in the blank…. How do you deal with that?
When my daughter left for 5 months in Costa Rica, I could tell that people were praying for us. Somewhere on the way to New York City, as I was driving along praying, God did something in my heart. There was a peace there I couldn’t explain, and I was able to bring her to the airport and wave goodbye without crying. If you know me, that is amazing. I cry at Hallmark commercials. Yet, I could put her on the plane, knowing that God is with her, and trust she will have a wonderful experience there.
There have been other times in my life, change has come, and I haven’t even noticed the airport signs. Maybe I refused to look, had my fingers in my ears, so I wouldn’t hear the sound of the planes. I was too busy trying to keep things "life as usual" to realize the change was needed, that it was time to say goodbye and graciously let go… I’ve even tried running after the plane, saying "Wait, take me with you!" But sometimes we need to let the people in our lives go. They may never be in our lives in quite the same way, just like Rebekah is not part of our daily routine right now. But the people that are important to us, they will wander in and out of our lives, just in a different way. And we need to be OK with that. It would be pretty silly if I were still sitting at the airport, missing my daughter and waiting for her to come home, wouldn’t it? Yet I know I’ve been guilty of that in other areas of my life. OK, self, wake up and smell the coffee…
People change, circumstances change. But I know there is one constant in my life, and that is God. He doesn’t change, and He’ll always be there for me. With His help, I can learn to walk more graciously through the changes in my life, instead of being dragged, kicking and screaming all the way, into a new season. I know if I’m looking at Him, instead of what I’m going through, I’ll be able to see things in a new perspective, and He’ll begin to show me the plan He has in all of it. Because I know the plans He has for me are plans for good, for peace, for a hope and a future. When I begin to trust that He knows what He’s doing with my life, and in the lives of the ones I love, then I can relax and enjoy the ride. Even if it’s taking someone I love to the airport.
Let go and Let God. You’ll be amazed at what He can do.
(this blog was written last year, and my daughter is now back home, finishing her last semester of college… that's her in Costa Rica, in the picture above. I decided to post it after reading this blog by Kathy, who gave me my first ever blogger comment, go check out her page: http://kathysklavier.blogspot.com/2007/08/doors.html )
