Home

Our house is at it’s finest in the summertime. With 22 windows the sun comes streaming in, the place lights up and the dust and dirt disappear (or maybe I choose not to see them).

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However, once winter shows up there’s a Jekyll and Hyde situation that happens. This quaint home shows it’s ugly side as the bitter air slips between poorly insulated steel doors and we drape quilts over entryways.

As if I needed one more reason to dislike the cold and gloom.

But today isn’t that day. Today is a day of warm sun, a gentle breeze and even a few wasps floating around. The quilt is off the back door (Oh please Lord! Make it gone for good! The quilt. Not the door.), and the dogs are literally rolling around on the deck not sure what to do with all the warm sun and time to play ball in the yard.

Sometimes our spirits need a break. If we’ve endured hardship, sickness or turmoil in what feels like a dry, cloudy, bitter cold, winter season of sadness then we are extra aware when the sun finally comes out.

Reading 2 Samuel 23:4-5 brings this to mind for me:

“He is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth. ‘Is not my house right with God?’ Has He not made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will He not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire?” (NIV)

I’m struck by the part about my house being right with God. Of course I get bent out of shape when the house is messy, there is dog hair everywhere (But I love my German and Australian Shedders!) and the people whom I absolutely love keep tracking clumps of mud on the floors I just cleaned. But, the “rightness” of our house has to do with attitude and walking out what the Lord wants from us. If the house is spotless, there’s no quilt over the door, everything is in perfect working order, and all the dishes and whatnots match, but we are a quarreling, hateful, ungodly, bitter, mean, angry bunch then a clean house means absolutely nothing.

My beloved and I need to show our children (some are adults already, which I can NOT fathom!) that marriage takes work, prayer and time in copious amounts. We must emulate Christ to the absolute best of our ability and be completely transparent when we don’t live up to the Gospel message. Meaning, we need to ask for and seek forgiveness early and often.

Over the years I’ve learned that the outside of a house only tells you so much. I’ve walked into stunning homes worth millions and while the interior was perfect and pristine the occupants were on edge and at war. Because I’m human I often gaze at houses that we can’t afford and dream, just for a moment, what it would be like to live in a house with a pool, a hot tub and one of those things where the vacuum is built in (Again. The dog hair is a real problem here!)

But truly, I’d be very OK to upgrade to a house with a pantry and a back door that doesn’t need to wear a blanket all winter. And I’m so aware that the interior and exterior with all the imperfections is way less important than who lives here and how we love each other. May we be a house of prayer and who the Lord wants us to be for those who live here.

Thank you for stopping by!

If you are here today because you saw the devotion on Encouragement Cafè, then thank you! Today’s devotion was especially meaningful (they are all special, but today’s comes with an extra dose of heart and soul!) When God speaks so clearly and directly and you can feel your mood shift, you just have to write about it. So I did. If just one person responds and says the “No Room” devotional was helpful, I will feel God has used some of my pain, raw emotions (and, yes, stubbornness) for His glory.

I will link the devotion here, but you can find it at http://www.encouragementcafè.com under my name and the title “No Room”.

Keep working at it. This Christian life isn’t easy, but it’s so absolutely worth it. God is honored by your hard work and your diligence to keep striving for the cross and the way of Jesus.

No Room!
By Dawn Mast 

“To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds.” Ephesians 4:23 (ESV) 

Emotions I hadn’t felt in a long, long time suddenly took over and I was angry. Seething rage, hurt and a sprinkling of unforgiveness came washing over me with a gush. The sad part is, my day hadn’t even started yet! I was just getting ready for the day, drying my hair, putting on my make-up (which is extremely hard to do when you keep crying) and wrestling down unruly emotions like a toddler with a temper. 

There was a dress rehearsal in my mind of a resent offense and I kept replaying it with different outcomes where I said hurtful words to hurting people. Not my best moment. My soul was riled up and my stomach was in knots. So much chaos so early in the day. 

In the midst of the angry madness God spoke to my heart with a phrase that settled and righted my upended emotions. Just like when Jesus calmed the weather related storm on the Sea of Galilee, I felt a whisper and calming in my heart that brought about almost immediate peace. 

He said, “There is no room in your spirit for this.”

I could almost feel my tears dry and my anger come to a screeching halt. “There is no room in your spirit for this.” It took me a moment but it was as if God was saying that I am too precious for Him to stand by and watch me have all this emotional struggle. He was reminding me of my value to Him. I may not feel valuable to others at times, but to God I am always priceless. 

We often allow something to settle in our spirit that pushes us down, draws us away from God or makes us feel less than. The replay of those feelings just makes it worse. There IS room in our spirit for that which helps us to be humble, wise and draw near to our Heavenly Father.  When we have something in our spirit and thought life causes us to live and think opposite of Scripture, there is no room for that. 

It’s not easy to keep our spirits squeaky clean. It’s actually impossible. But we are given a sweet, helpful reminder in Romans 8:5 about living according to the Spirit. We are reminded that, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.” 

That day when things got off to such a rough start for me I had my focus on hard, hurtful feelings and how to get revenge. This was definitely not of the Spirit. However,  Galatians 5:22 provides a list of a good diet for our Spiritual nourishment. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”  This verse goes on to reminds us that, “ Against such things there is no law.”

There is room in our spirit for that because it’s from the Lord. 

 When your spirit is full of anything that holds you down, sets you off God’s course and just has your emotions in a tangle, it can be helpful to fill it with the characteristics listed in Galatians 5:22. Each time I have a little “moment” whether it’s feeling sorry for myself, fear, anger or impatience I can take something from the Galatians 5:22 list and replace it and it’s truly helpful. Do I always remember to do that?! No. But it helps to remember if there is room in our spirit for hate, sadness, strife, and impatience, then there’s room for love, joy, peace and patience.

Father God, the way you know my soul and spirit is a gift. Thank You for knowing what to tell my heart and how to encourage me to not stay stuck in a spiral of past, negative emotions. Please continue to stretch my spirit and make room for You, Your Spirit and the truth of Your Word. Help me to empty my spirit of all the elements that weigh me down, are unnecessary and draw me away from You. There is room in my spirit for more of You! In the Name of Jesus-Amen!

Whirlwind

The hard year of 2020 is over. How are you doing? Are you the kind of person who chooses a word for the year? Good for you! I’m going to be different and choose a word for the previous year:

Whirlwind.

Fitting don’t you think? A few years ago there was a derecho (intense, widespread, fast moving windstorm) that came through our town. The damage it did in the short time it was here was unreal. There were things hanging from trees that don’t belong in trees (toys, lawn chairs and possibly the neighbor’s cat.) Our grill was even thrown off the deck and tossed in the yard. My ever industrious husband who can fix anything actually deemed it useless and hauled it to the dump. THAT’s how bad this windstorm was!

Last year felt a lot like that. Just hard messes and too much to deal with and no energy to want to bother with it. There were days I wanted to just take the entire year to the dump! Can I get an AMEN?!

But I had to look up the word “whirlwind” in the Bible and I found something totally interesting. It only appears twice in the NIV translation, both times in the Old Testament and both times involving prophets (Elijah and Hosea.) The part I found fascinating is that in Hosea the word whirlwind is used in chapter 8 verse 7 talking about sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind. It brings to mind the idea that when we put our trust in unstable forces we will be left with nothing. The wind, especially a whirlwind, will wipe us out.

As I look back at our year, I realize we remained stable and upright (most of the time) because our faith was secure. We have built our belief on the fact that Jesus IS the rock and our foundation and nothing can move us.

I took a photo of my last radiation treatment. Twenty fingers counting the amount of treatments completed. The headpiece is for extra celebratory flair!

It’s proof that God never fails and will see us through to the end. He cares about our every need (1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”) Stand on the Foundation that doesn’t move and let’s pray that the coming year is one of less whirlwind and smoother days.

Good Pain

It’s a little unusual to find something good about being in pain. Most people I know try to avoid being in pain and go to great lengths to keep their bodies from experiencing pain (except for the long distance runners I know. This, I still do not understand.) Just one encounter with a Lego to the foot in the middle of the night will teach me to turn on the light, look where I step or just not use the bathroom near the playroom. Live and learn. Pain teaches us like that.

Because of breast cancer surgery last month I have some residual pain. My 2 inch incision didn’t really hurt, and the site of the lymph node biopsy was only moderately sore if I did something stupid (like opened a cabinet door into it. For example.) But the location of recurring pain is my arm. My dominant right arm. I mean, I’d give my right arm for it to not hurt anymore, but that would defeat the purpose.

In an effort to relieve this pain I was trying to stretch it, bend it and nap the pain away. Nothing was working.

Then I remembered a stretch from exercise class from years ago. It looks something like this:

Photo by Burst on Pexels.com

I tried it and the relief was almost instant. But there was another benefit I hadn’t thought of. My posture had me in a position to pray hard, without distraction.

Face down, palms down. No temptation to open my eyes. Just prostrate in pain relief and abiding prayer.

In this position I was pain free, on the bed (the dogs are NOT allowed on the bed, no matter now nicely they ask), quiet and still. With pain out of the way I could hear God. There were many who needed prayer for their own ailments and I could lift them up from my face down position.

As I pray I’m aware of those in physical pain because of cancer and Covid. But my prayers for those in pain reach out to those who are experiencing emotional, financial and mental heartaches. There is distress from those who are walking far from the Lord and we ask that He will gently lead them back to Him. Despair, anguish and suffering come in many forms, but God cares and longs to take our pain from us. Our pain is His pain.

In Scripture Naomi had such pain emotionally she changed her name to Mara, believing God had made her life bitter after she’d had such a full, rich existence. (Ruth 1:20-21) Her anguish blinded her to God’s goodness and the resources He had provided.

Do I do the same?

In my times of pain whether it’s post-op soreness, migraine, emotional, lack of discipline because I ate something stupid late at night (why do I do that?!), or financial because of the great deals at Costco (there’s always something I need at Costco!) am I mature enough to turn to the Lord for strength and hope? Can I stretch my prayer muscles and exercise my soul to the point of lifting up others despite my own hardships?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Today, I’m in pain, but I’m stretching.

I’m praying for those who are experiencing pain in various ways.

Pain doesn’t keep us from praise!

“I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exhalt his name together.” Psalm 34: 1-3 (NIV)

Impatiently waiting

It’s interesting when you hear the word “cancer” it starts a chain reaction. There’s the initial shock of the diagnosis, followed by whatever other emotion you are feeling (no emotion is wrong by the way.) Then there’s usually a flurry of appointments, tests, and your neatly planned schedule for the next several months goes out the window.

In my case from the time of diagnosis until surgery was 2 months. There was plenty of time to pray for healing, think about cancer, wonder about the “what ifs” and worry. Some days were filled with a cycle of prayer, thinking, wondering and worry which led to restless nights. I found that my best distraction was to clean. And clean I did! My family commented that the house hasn’t been this clean in a very, very long time. Possibly ever.

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.com

Behind toilets, underneath appliances, the tops of fans and the tallest bookshelves got plenty of attention. I even cleaned things I planned to throw away. This is probably a serious issue. But, when you have cancer people tend to let you do what you want, realizing you’ll be back to your old self someday. Hopefully.

You’ve entered into a season of waiting? You will wait for an appointment, wait for the medical staff to come into the room, hold still while a procedure is performed, wait for test results to come back, and bide your time until your surgery day comes around. Cancer is not for the impatient patient! But it teaches us to slow down and wait. To be still, pause and trust the details we can’t see.

Waiting is Biblical. Psalm 40:1 declares, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit. Out of the mud at mire.” By becoming still and giving up control to God we can rest in the knowing He will do more than we can ask or imagine. I have quite an active imagination and can dream up some intense scenarios regarding my health.

Through this season of waiting I found I had times of deep, unwavering peace. Other times I knew I was one step away from snapping someone’s head off if they asked me the wrong question (all questions were, unfortunately, the wrong question.)

Even in the waiting I knew God wasn’t ignoring me, sleeping or silent. There were sweet moments when I clearly saw His hand reminding me of His presence in powerful ways.

On one of my biopsy days I was wound tight from anxiety (I despise getting breast biopsies.) That morning I was texting a friend about some of her prayer concerns and shared Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord will rejoice over you with singing…” that had been on my heart that morning. Later in the biopsy room the nurse allowed me to select some music to comfort me and keep my mind off the procedure.

Suddenly I heard, “What A Beautiful Name” from Hillsong Worship being sung. But it was coming from over my left shoulder where the nurse was standing. She was singing over me.

Sweet reader, that is all God. You can’t make this up or force it to happen. He made sure there was someone there on that day, in my deep fear, at the height of an anxious moment to sing over me. He even woke me up with that verse on my heart and mind to solidify His love and plan for the day that He had everything under complete control. Truly, what a Beautiful Name to be sung over me.

If you are waiting and anxious today I hope you know how absolutely humanly hard it is to be patient. Try and rest in the knowledge that God knows and sees and is rejoicing over you with His song because He loves you.

A Good Shower

If you need a really good place to cry, might I suggest the shower. Not MY shower, because that would be more awkward than therapeutic, but your own shower. Especially when your soul feels so overwhelmed, hurt and exhausted you just can’t even imagine how you will handle your emotions. So you sob to the soap and it helps.

Full disclosure. This is not our bathroom. Ours has less tile and more dog hair.

When you’re a type A, extrovert and get cancer during a pandemic and your doctor husband is temporarily unemployed, it can be a lot to handle. You’re the doer, giver, meal maker, cleaner, but feel your reserves slowly give out with each trip to the doctor, each biopsy (total of 3 now) each variety of cancer (being an overachiever, I have 2), and just the waiting for that surgery date to happen so we can get on with this!

So you hop in the shower and cry. You let out all the pain and disappointment, the fear and frustration and honestly the anger (there’s a lot of that!) You don’t worry about anyone seeing your tears and you definitely don’t worry about your mascara running. It’s a good time. I mean, not a GOOD time, but a healing time.

You wash away the hurt of knowing the people who could choose to help you just won’t. Or can’t. Or something. You watch the disappointment of waiting for a text or a card from people you thought would reach out wash down the drain. And you heal a little. You know you aren’t on their radar and it stings. A lot. You blubber about, “They couldn’t just drop a card in the mail?!? It’s a pandemic, but the U.S. Postal system still works!”

You weep about your wounds and quite frankly feel a little sorry for yourself. You start down the path of counting up all the people who haven’t done for you, disappointed you and let you down in your time of need. You almost slip down the drain yourself.

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  Photo by Sachith Hettigodage on Pexels.com

Then God reminds you of something. He quietly says something, but you are still able to hear Him over the pounding water and your tears. He says, “Look at what you DO have.”

Oh. Oh my.

Let’s take a look at THAT extensive list.

Cancer showed up during a pandemic and my husband not having a job. Yes.

But, so did:

~our church family with meals, cards, prayer, texts (one lady texts me EVERYDAY! She’s adorable!), more food, more prayer, just “I love you and am here for you and am praying for you!” texts (one in the middle of the night)

~stuff left on our porch (some of it I don’t even know where it came from, but it’s beautiful and delicious!)

~ my parents-drove over here from the other side of the county-at night- with my favorite ice cream (peppermint bark!)

~books (also my parents), my sister (who has a brain tumor and 3 children-not related to the tumor, I guess ☺️) her family brought Thai food (which I canNOT make!) And a devotional book about healing. So very helpful and thoughtful!

~ Mark’s patients (I didn’t even know they knew where we lived!) brought food!

~ A beautiful “Faith over Fear” t-shirt from my sister-in-law. This will be my cancer treatment outfit!

~ My other sister brought Indian food (also something I canNOT replicate in the kitchen.)

~ A Jewish prayer shawl from my sweet friend from Encouragement Cafè

~ Books, cards, and chocolate covered strawberries from my Encouragement Cafè ladies.

ANYWAY…the love, support, outreach and care I received far outweighed what I wasn’t receiving. I was focusing on what I wasn’t getting, who wasn’t supporting me and the hurt and pain that was causing. That diminished the precious people who were loving and benevolent towards our family.

It reminded me of 2 Corinthians 7:5-6, “For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn-conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, Who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.” (NIV)

There will be hard, possibly serious hard times in life. Like me, you may look only at the, “Well, so-and-so isn’t helping me in my time of need even though I helped them…” This is true. Yes. It’s unfair. It’s wrong. It hurts and if so-and-so is a Christian they should be better.

But YOU, pointing at myself here 😣, let them go, shake the dust off your feet and focus on the ones who have stepped up to help. There are many who love you and you might need to stop and make a list like I did. Or get in the shower. There is at least one Titus in your life. God will send someone He will use to comfort, help and alleviate your disappointment.

After a good soaking cry, get out, dry your tears and count your many, many blessings. It’s God’s way of saying He loves you and is showering you with His love.

Every Day is Wednesday

The medical office is now in our basement. Charlie the skeleton is settling in nicely and the kids are using him to scare the stuffing out of each other.

Now that Mark is around all the time, the dynamic at home has taken on a different feeling. He used to get up everyday, go to work for hours and help people. It meant something for him to figure out a physical ailment, prescribe the correct treatment and see how God worked to bring people healing and wholeness. When he worked at the primary care clinic he had Wednesdays off. Now, everyday is Wednesday.

He’s home all the time.

For some women that might strike fear; having their husband around all day, everyday.

Not me. I can handle it. We really enjoy each other! And really the timing couldn’t be better because just when Mark had his last day of work I needed to be shuttled back and forth to doctors appointments.

This reminds me God knows exactly what He’s doing. Always. Down to the day, hour and minute because we were absolutely aware of the fact had Mark been working 40 hours a week at a job that was not flexible with him being able to take time off, my cancer diagnosis would have been even more stressful.

Yes, we have a medical office in our basement. There are books with graphic pictures and a box of very strange sharp things that I don’t even want to know about. But this stepping out of the corporate medicine world and into the basement is a step of faith. Cancer is requiring a similar step.

Maybe there is some “stepping” going on in your life. A job change, a health crisis, an upheaval with family. We are surprised by so many details about life and God is not surprised by anything. I hope you see Him sweetly, gently guiding you today as you step through your day and trust Him.

I also hope you don’t walk out of the bathroom and find a skeleton perched on your bookcase. There is much to be thankful for!

 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea…The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”    Psalm 46:1-2;7

Faithful Journey

Have you ever not asked for something? There are things that happen in life we don’t see coming, we don’t ask for and we definitely don’t want, but they come our way anyway. Heartache. Sickness. Financial troubles. Relationship woes. Car trouble (sometimes you need one and don’t have it. Then you get one and it still gives you issues!) Natural disasters. Aches. Pains. You name it, life is going to throw something at you at some point. The question is, will you stay upright?

Our life has been pretty good. Definitely not perfect and far from ideal, but my husband and I have been enjoying life lately. The kids are past diapers and naps (Not me. I mean, I just need the naps. Not the diapers.) Moving right along, we were at a good place where things were finally feeling settled. It only took 20ish years. Mark was feeling like medical practice was going well, our 4 kids were busy and happy, the dogs were housebroken (that’s a big one!), and the backyard had finally, finally become a decent place to hang out. Time to sit back and rela….

The hospital corporation floated a new contract to my husband and it started him thinking about why he got into medicine in the first place. Suddenly the stringent regulations, corporate squeezing and productivity requirements were glaring. We were pushed to our knees in prayer knowing this was not what God wanted when He asked Mark to serve in the area of medicine.

So, with some trepidation he started looking for a job. It was me who found the perfect employment opportunity for him. A mobile medical unit that serves the underserved population in the city was looking to hire a bilingual doctor. I knew just the man! With some counsel from friends and our pastors, lots of prayer and some Zoom interviews it was clear this was the job for my doctor husband. Mission. Service. Medicine. His dream job. And an answer to the prayer of stepping out in faith and serving.

But, what so often happens when we step out to serve, we get assaulted. Like Scripture says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV) Our obedience was noticed and there was definite attention happening because we had decided to move toward ministry.

Around this same time I had a doctors appointment and received a call afterwards. “Invasive Ductal Carcinoma” is what they said, but I was pretty sure they meant to call someone else. The odd part is I have complete peace and hope about this. OK…I did get out of bed one night and go sit on the deck and sob. Loudly. But, I really have sweet assurance that God is faithful.

Cancer doesn’t make Him less faithful.

Unemployment doesn’t make Him less faithful.

Nothing makes God less faithful.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword….For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39 NIV)

Will you walk faithfully with us in prayer as we step into a mobile medical ministry job  and figure out a cancer journey? It might be an exciting trip and we don’t want to go alone.

~ DM

 

 

The nest

The symbolism was not lost on me.

In May, a mama bird chose our front door (specifically the wreath) for her nest. One day the wreath went up and the next it had a nest in it. She didn’t waste any time!

Soon I noticed mama bird sat on that nest a lot. When I peeked in I saw 5 eggs. I’m not entirely sure where the phrase “busy little bee” comes from when apparently birds seem to be doing a lot of work!

It was the summer before our second son was preparing to depart for college so I was already feeling nostalgic for his boy hood days. For his graduation party we had unearthered photos of his soccer tournaments, homeschool papers and public school art projects. There were more photos than usual of him around so I was reminiscing about when he was little enough to snuggle with me and read and how he was a sweet kid, but also a stinker. Stories came surging at me raising boy, after boy, after boy (then a girl), and how I spent years exhausted and probably way too grumpy and hoping my children remembered that I was doing it out of love for mothering.

Did I smile and laugh enough?

Are the lines on my face from late night laughing on the deck with our family of 6 or from worry because of high fevers and a son who liked to lick the cart at Costco? And suck on his shoe. After being in a public bathroom.

This mama bird on our front door quickly dropped 5 eggs in the nest and tended them well. She gave us the evil-bird eye every time we’d open the door (“Ahem! It IS our house!) to let the dogs out (Whom she despised!)

I knew how she felt. With 20 years of mothering behind me I had given away dirty looks more than once. The librarian who shushed my child who was barely speaking, the drivers who recklessly cut me off in traffic when I had my babies in the car and the thoughtless comments from people who mentioned how I could parent better. All this falls on my mama bird and mama bear heart in a heavy, protective way. And I made sure to use caution when opening our front door so as not to disturb the nesting family.

One day I looked in and 5 pink, smooth bodies had become fluff with beady eyes and beaks. Overnight they had gone from creepy to cute. I feel a little badly saying it, but newly hatched birds are just not that adorable.

In record time they grew and chirped and tapped on the door with their becks. It was almost time to learn to fly.

In bird years they were at the adolescent stage and I burst out laughing when this little guy greeted me one day. He reminded me so much of our son. Peaking out at the world and taking it all in.

Looking a little awkward in the hair style department.

And all the while a mama stands close by hoping for a good outcome, watching out for predators and worrying a bit about her fledgling.

So many Scripture verses came to mind that brought me comfort and hope as we launched another one from our nest. God’s Word that reminded me of His hope, protection and plans for our children. I clung to God’s Word like that baby bird held onto the side of the nest.

“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings..”                      Psalm 17:8

Before we knew it, the birds were grown and they were perched on the edge of the nest. It was time to fly. My heart almost couldn’t take the reality of the analogy that was taking place before my eyes. It was time to let go and watch another one fly.

The interesting part was that once the birds were all gone I noticed that the nest looked a lot like our house. Here’s the photo:

When our children were younger they would blow through the house like a whirlwind and leave horrid messes. Toys, books, shoes, diapers, and snacks would be strewn all over and I’d be amazed that I’d have this mess to tend to. My human heart went out to the mama bird. But, then I realized that she flew away once the babies did. She just left!

What a great idea! Wait! I can’t just leave when the house gets messy, but I liked the option being on the table at least.

It’s been a few months since we dropped off our son at college and the transition is still happening. Some nights I’ll set the table for 4 and I’ll feel tremendously sad. Other times I’ll get accustomed to the 4 of us being at home, then the college boys will come home and I’ll have to reconfigure meal amounts, how much milk we need, and where all the cars need to be parked.

It’s not easy, all this mothering. The planning, prep work and nesting. And all your hard work tears a part of your heart a little when they fly off and make their own nests. The process is hard and good and so, so lovely and it makes us who we are as mothers and as people.

What a gift it is to mother and to watch my nest and to know through it all the Father holds it in His hands.

 

 

 

The Perfect Father

If you stopped by today because you read the devotion “The Perfect Father” on Encouragement Cafè, then Thank you! I hope you enjoy these websites and find encouragement, hope and maybe a little humor for your day. Please stop by again!