"Yo-Yo" Season

Well, we're in the midst of the "yo-yo" stage I described in an earlier post, where our college-age kids have again left home after a 5-week Christmas break from school. They come, they go, they come, they go...

And at our house, when Tessa and Carson come home, so it seems, does the rest of the world! One evening last week, Tessa invited a group of kids over and we ended up with nearly 40 of them at the house. That's 40 young men and women, in what felt like every nook-and-cranny of the place! Some of them were playing games, watching TV or just visiting, others were dancing to a Wii game, all of them were eating at one time or another!

Then to top it off,our high-schooler Christy--who didn't know about the party--came by with 6 or 7 of her own friends. The two girls had to have a discussion as to who gets what space in the house to hang out with their particular group of friends!

This mom finally retreated to our upstairs bedroom that evening,closed the door behind me...and savored the silence.

When my little ones were around my feet, I used to hear older parents mention in passing that "It'll be nice when they go back to college," or "I'm looking forward to it being just the two of us again". And I would think, "Oh, they can't possibly love their kids like I do mine. I'll never want my kids to leave." But you know what? Just like every other season in life, the Lord has this uncanny ability to get us ready to move forward when the time is right.And now I hear myself repeat word-for-word what those "older" parents said.

I love that about God.

He prepares us for what He knows is ahead for us. His Word says that when I commit my ways to Him, He will give me the desires of my heart. He actually has the power to change and modify desires I have inside myself. So although at one time, I could not comprehend a world where I didn't have my children tucked each in their own bed, a few feet away from me every night, He knew that when it became reality and they moved out, I would have the Grace I need to actually be happy about it!