I have friends that have babies.
I have friends that have husbands.
I have friends that at times I don’t feel I have much in common with anymore.
Changes...hmm, they are hard to deal with.
I feel sometimes their lives are moving fast, too fast beyond mine.
I want to compare but you know who always loses out when you do that: you.
I want to catch up, but that is hard to do without a husband and babies of my own.
I feel left out. And yet, I feel very comfortable and secure in where my life is right now.
Secure in my singleness.
Secure in my freedom.
Secure in my choices.
Secure in my time.
Secure in my space.
Secure in my creativity.
Secure in my spontaneity.
Secure in my responsibilities.
Secure in my peace.
Secure in my singleness.
Secure in my freedom.
Secure in my choices.
Secure in my time.
Secure in my space.
Secure in my creativity.
Secure in my spontaneity.
Secure in my responsibilities.
Secure in my peace.
Secure in my hope.
Secure in my passions.
Secure in being secure that when the time is right and God says it is so, the next chapter in my life will begin.
For His reason, I’m not in the season they are in.
And that season is a hard one for them at times; I see them from a distance.
I see the joy, but also the sacrifice, the smiles, but also the fatigue.
The putting others first before yourself, the tension of capacity versus assignment.
The wearied eyes, and sleepless nights, the nursing, the poo-poo diapers, the home cooked meals, the Mt. Kilimanjaro peaks of laundry piles, the coupon-clipping, the hot dog boiling, the string-cheese buying, the Cheerio snack cups, the family vans, the sipee cups, children’s DVDs, the intentional discipling of little hearts, the purposeful lovemaking, the availability for the searching and longing arms and hands and bodies of husbands that need you, the search for quiet space to have personal God-moments, sweet devotionals, 5 minute solitude in a world of busyness and needs and wants and pulls all from you toward others that require your presence and action in their lives. I see this from a distance and I realize it is a calling and it is timely and God knows when one is ready for such a commitment, such a sacrifice, such a role of a lifetime.
I mourn that I can’t share in their season of life with a similar season of life in my own world right now. A little twinge of envy rises up on occasion. But my heart does leap at the hope of sharing with sisters in the future who’ll enter this season of life at the same time I will. And God knows. We will be an encouragement to each other. And those who have gone before can instruct and encourage us with their wisdom gained in seasons past.
Changes can be good, even though they are hard.
Written by Melody L. Copenny
© April 28, 2011
Secure in my passions.
Secure in being secure that when the time is right and God says it is so, the next chapter in my life will begin.
For His reason, I’m not in the season they are in.
And that season is a hard one for them at times; I see them from a distance.
I see the joy, but also the sacrifice, the smiles, but also the fatigue.
The putting others first before yourself, the tension of capacity versus assignment.
The wearied eyes, and sleepless nights, the nursing, the poo-poo diapers, the home cooked meals, the Mt. Kilimanjaro peaks of laundry piles, the coupon-clipping, the hot dog boiling, the string-cheese buying, the Cheerio snack cups, the family vans, the sipee cups, children’s DVDs, the intentional discipling of little hearts, the purposeful lovemaking, the availability for the searching and longing arms and hands and bodies of husbands that need you, the search for quiet space to have personal God-moments, sweet devotionals, 5 minute solitude in a world of busyness and needs and wants and pulls all from you toward others that require your presence and action in their lives. I see this from a distance and I realize it is a calling and it is timely and God knows when one is ready for such a commitment, such a sacrifice, such a role of a lifetime.
I mourn that I can’t share in their season of life with a similar season of life in my own world right now. A little twinge of envy rises up on occasion. But my heart does leap at the hope of sharing with sisters in the future who’ll enter this season of life at the same time I will. And God knows. We will be an encouragement to each other. And those who have gone before can instruct and encourage us with their wisdom gained in seasons past.
Changes can be good, even though they are hard.
Written by Melody L. Copenny
© April 28, 2011
Can I just say that I LOVE this?!!! I read it last year and posted a link for it on my blog today! Thank you for writing such "real" material!!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the affirmation Ugena. I appreciate your words.
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