Graduating

It's that time of year again: Graduation! This year it seems bigger to me however...you'll see why.

Graduation means accomplishment; through a ton of hard work, a goal has been reached! Graduation also means the end of an era; a season of life is ending with relationships and routines changing if not fading away completely. Graduation is a time of reflection on all of the above. Graduation means celebration of the person who has worked and achieved and invested.

So, this year I have dear friends graduating from Seminary, Undergrad, High School, and do not forget Kindergarten. The whole gamut is represented. Not only are they significant graduations, but the people graduating are significant. Starting with my sweet son who made it through Kindy, Rachel, Danielle, Teddy, Mark, and Todd. All of these people have made a significant impact on me as a person. I could probably write a whole blog entry about each one (but not today ;) )

But for me, it's a graduation too. I'm graduating from stay-at-home mommyhood. My youngest will be in school full day. If the opportunity to stay home and be a homemaker presented itself, I might jump at it; this shocks me to the core. But for better or for worse, this graduation does mean I have to find employment.

And that is one thing that graduation means for some of us that I haven't mentioned yet: the unknown. What does God want us to do next? The future is not clear; the steps haven't been laid out before us. What job or career will God bring? Will it require a move? Will it be what we want or what we dreamed of? Will it be the dream job we always wanted and turn out to be not at all what we enjoy?

For me Graduation = Trepidation

Yes, God, I hear Jeremiah 29:11 echoing. I hear 2 Tim 1:7. I hear Phil 4:6. Please God increase my faith. Help me trust You with my unknown. For You it is known...and You are there in the middle of it.

So, I choose to move my mind away from the fear. Instead I'll focus on the fact that I wish my graduation meant a party to celebrate my accomplishments and all the attention and gifts. But moms don't get a party...this is a wrong that should really be addressed.

Laundry

Sometimes God talks to me while I'm doing laundry. I wish He did every single time I did laundry. Then I'd want to do laundry every day...I would beg my kids to change clothes midday...I would rush to the dryer when it insistently calls to me that the cycle is done.

It's amazing though. He has done it at the old house and again here; He has just drawn me close to Him.

Why the laundry?
Because my hands are busy, but my mind is not?
Because I'm surrounded by the boxes of clutter that need to be dealt with and remind me that He is trying to do the same in my life?
Because He has made me clean...once for always, but over and over again?

I've had deep dark conversations with Him while I'm doing laundry. Conversations that I never want to write down because I wouldn't want to admit the extent of my own brokenness. I need that so much!

But no, Rog, this doesn't mean that I won't let you do the laundry sometimes too!

Light

I like electric lighting. I like that I can stay up late and read. I like that even on a stormy day, I can have a bright, cheery home. Electric light gives us so much: Flexibility, more hours in the day, even on stage, it can give us heat.

But compared to the Sun, its pretty insignificant.

The Sun heats our world--without it we could not have life. The Sun gives us light...even at night as it lights the moon. The Sun on a clear day brings a warmth and brightness to the spirit that affects our whole outlook on life. It's power is immense!

We can't let the electric lights in our lives outweigh the magnificence of the Sun.

We can't let the people we love outweigh the God who sustains us.

(there are no perfect metaphors, but this one helps me)

I love What's in the Bible!

What's in the Bible is an amazing series! DVD 5 is set to come out soon, and it covers 1 & 2 Samuel. (So lots about King David.) Your money is well spent when you give your kids and yourself the gift of What's in the Bible. I've learned a lot...and I've been a Christian for 32 years! My kids love it, so what could be better than puppets entertaining me and teaching my family all about God's rescue plan for humanity? Not much...

Truly popular

After watching a Beth Moore video a few weeks ago, I was driven to really think.

What kind of man does it take to attract followers who are so diverse?

A burly fisherman and a dishonest tax collector

A rabbi and a prostitute

An old man and young children

The very rich and the very poor

It amazes me that Jesus of Nazareth inspired not just the typically religious of his time, but every type of common man and woman. People flocked to him! He could hardly get away to pray...the crowds followed him around a large lake. They went without food...

What kind of man inspires a little boy to give up his lunch? I rarely give up my lunch for anything let alone anyone.

Can you imagine the diversity of humanity who was drawn to the one and only Son of God? I know by what He did for me that He is extraordinary...divine!

He can't have been milquetoast. He can't have been boring. He can't have been cheesy.

People just don't follow a man like that.

He is gentle, but in the strength of a carpenter and a king.

He is full of life...for it is from His breath that we are formed.

He laughed, He cried, He loved.

He was a man that drew attention not because He needed it but because we needed Him so very badly. How I need Him more and more!