Empty nest . Again

I won't try to fake it.  Son Jeff and his lovely wife, Carla  left over an hour ago for their home in Granite Bay, and daughter Lauren  went south to Glendora, to resume college at Azusa Pacific. My kittie, Bootsie and I have taken our walk down to the curve in my long driveway, have had our chat with the Lord,  sitting side by side on a bench, and now comes the decision: Do I cry the rest of the day or do I gut it up and thank Him for new and fresh awareness of His blessings?

I don't feel very theological or philosophical so I will simply be  a mom and a grandmother as I write to you.  On Thanksgiving Day, trying as hard as I could not to dwell on the fact that my family is diminished significantly,  I resisted looking down the length of the table,  imagining my Ted at the head, leading the  family prayer and giving opportunity for each one to share a scripture that centered our minds upon the Lord. I resisted thinking that Doug would be coming through the door with his family at any moment.

Biting the bullet of disciplining my mind to "be anxious for nothing but in everything give thanks for this is the will of God concerning you." is beginning to work.  My Abba has produced these new reasons to rejoice in just this last hour. 1) Lucas,  (20)  now living with Jeff and Carla in Granite Bay is becoming a mature Christian young man. He loves college, loves his job, loves being in Jeff and Carla's home.  2) Dear quiet Lance, 17,  is being mentored by one of my favorite men. Lance volunteered this information himself. (Big gift for this grandmother who has longed to know this  young man.)  3) Maddie Jane is a gorgeous 15-year-old who loves Jesus. I work with many teenagers now and all love Maddie Jane. So do I.  Dee and Brent's Lexi, a senior in the school where Maddie is a freshman is 17, beautiful, an excellent swimmer and tennis player, but most importantly, she loves Jesus. She is loved by all the young people I meet.

Jeff and Carla's Lauren, 21, coming down the home stretch toward graduation from college,  loves Jesus and wants so much to know what His plan is for her. She is at the top of the chart as a performing musician.  The dilemma? God has given her a tender heart toward the poor. How will he put that package together?  He will. He will.  Lainey, 23, is working hard at her job in Granite Bay, while pursuing her education. She and Lucas are in the same college where she is a great help and encourager to her cousin as he hunkers down to begin his education.  Four of the cousins spent the day together at Magic Mountain yesterday and my grandmother heart sang all day about that.  These cousins bonded since birth right here in our home on holidays.  As I listened to them reminisce about their games of "Ghosts in the Graveyard", indoor and outdoor games of Hide 'n Seek, swimming and hiking, a thousand pictures came to mind of these many times when everybody came "home".  Maybe I thought it would all last, but of course deep inside me,  I knew it couldn't. The losses have been horrific to bear; the gains are gaining as boyfriends and girlfriends are in the wings who will, before long, launch another generation.

Carla has observed  that the team of men that is building around her husband, my son Jeff,  at William H. Jessup University are men like his dad in nature, and giftedness. How beautiful to think on this. The Lord placed Ted Stone's pioneering mantel around the shoulders of our second son.  Carla counsels children in Jeff's clinic, "Cornerstone", and loves her work. With Doug's son, Luke, in their home with them now, their empty nest isn't empty any more.  .

Now that my family has been here, even though my heart is sad that they are scattered again, my mind is happy that all are in various stages of letting the Lord have their whole hearts. Doug and his Dad are safe in the arms of Jesus, and my remaining children and grandchildren are just as safe here on this earth, despite the alarming signs that we are in terribly perilous times in our world.  What else really matters besides Jesus and Heaven? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Son Jeff gave me this one-liner, a quote from a client of his: "A mother is only as happy as her least happy child."  We mothers, as predicted in Genesis 3, suffer in ways no one but another mother and Jesus understand. There is absolutely no point in sharing our feelings with anyone else.

    HYMN OF THE WEEK: THOU WILT KEEP HIM IN PERFECT PEACE (Isaiah 26:3)

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee"
When the shadows come and darkness falls, He giveth perfect peace
O He is the only perfect resting place, He giveth perfect peace!
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee."

Love, Jo