What Makes it Different Makes it Beautiful

"Ch-ch-ch-changes..." I know that's an incredibly cliche way to begin talking about...well...changes, but the song really does sum it up. And we all know the song so darn well. There really have been so many changes in my life over the last year, and I'm not sure how to express all of them, if I am to be perfectly honest. I can be honest with you, right? I thought so. I knew you were a kindred spirit. Since the last Mother's Day, so much has changed in our lives, as I am assuming things have also changed for you. In the space of a year, my husband went from self-employed to having full-time ministry as his paying day job! That was not something we ever even dreamed of, but God loves to throw open doors you don't expect! My husband and kids also got to experience their first category 3 hurricane. That was a good time, let me tell you! We spent so many happy days just doing our family things: going to the beach, going to Disney, relaxing on our "weekends", which are Mondays and Tuesdays because of the nature of our jobs. In all of the wonder and joy, we also experienced two devastating family losses; first a beloved cousin, then my father. To say that this past year has been full would be an understatement. It has truly taught me that there is beauty in hard things like loss. It has taught me that there is beauty in finding a new rhythm. It has taught me that seasonal changes are not just Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, but that we can do things in some seasons that can't be done in others. More on that later. Today, our household is staring Summer in the face. Our kids and I are thrilled that the end of school is almost here, but it is bittersweet this year--our oldest daughter is graduating! Where has the time gone, I ask you?? Summertime brings freedom, but for us in coastal regions, it also brings hurricane season. It's fine. We're fine. Everything is fine. (We really are, I promise!)

If you've made it past my rambling, thank you. I think I am still finding my feet when it comes to processing this last year, and that's ok. Healing and processing take time, especially when there are a lot of things on that to-do list. As I begin to ease back into my season of writing, I am reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

A Time for Everything

1For everything there is a season,

a time for every activity under heaven.

2A time to be born and a time to die.

A time to plant and a time to harvest.

3A time to kill and a time to heal.

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

4A time to cry and a time to laugh.

A time to grieve and a time to dance.

5A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.

A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

6A time to search and a time to quit searching.

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

7A time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

8A time to love and a time to hate.

A time for war and a time for peace.

9What do people really get for all their hard work? 10I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. 12So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

14And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. 15What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.

Let God walk you through every season. He won't let go of your hand, I promise.

Since it is still Mother's Day, I'd like to share again maybe the piece of writing that I am most proud of. I hope that this weekend is filled with joy for you, even if it may also have its painful moments. Never forget that just like childbirth, every journey has pain with purpose. Happy Mother's Day to you, dear reader. I pray that it is blessed and that you see the Father in it!

A Boy In The Night