The Music of Change

Fall approaches, school begins anew. Ready or not. The years of childhood pass like lightning flashes.

 I recall the music of family with my four children.  It's the parent’s melody and I loved being immersed in its sweet sound. 

But my music makers are off now leading concerts of their own. The memory of our music together sustains me. From time to time we gather and I smile at the joyful noises in my heart.

 

I think of moms and dads still in the midst of the music. 

 

There is a rhythm to life that only the Lord knows, a time for babies to be born and educated and a time for children to be transformed into adults. I don’t know how it happens with such speed and precision. I do know when I try to mess with my own family’s life, the melody it becomes clangy.

 

The giving, the getting, the loosing, the stretching, the tying tight and the hard releases with children as they mature can be tough. Only God makes it all so beautiful and right.

 

Lord, I watched my old expectations as a parent fly away and wonder why were they once so important.  Teaching about You Jesus, absorbing You, exuding You, seems the only parenting purpose of value.

 

My eyes glisten, when I try to write words that describe Your You-ness Jesus as the great I AM and the FOREVER-WILL-BE and YOUR presence that permeates my family reality with security and joy. Sheltering was never all up to my husband Wayne and I. God really can snatch our loved ones from evil and work ugly things for good.

 

Which is why I can trust  my babies-turned-adult, my grandchildren and now my great grands into the invisible arms that never fail to protect them.

 

Change and transition, I am bigger than these foes. I can embrace every new note of now. Love within a family never ends, it simply gets lived out differently.

 

God’s plan is good, really, assuredly, ultimately and so I can be content whether my household nest is full or empty during hours of the school day or for a lifetime.

 

 

 

 

The music plays on. I need only listen.

 

 

HELPFUL SCRIPTURE:

 

“Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. “Proverbs 17:6

 

“Bear with each other and forgive one another. If any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13

 

BOOK SUGGESTIONS:

 

My books MAN IN COMMAND, 52 WAYS TO BE A GREAT HUSBAND AND DAD and LOVING EVERY MINUTE, 52 WAYS TO LIVE, LAUGH AND LOVE AS A WOMAN will help you have a great family life. I have included the principles I learned from 30 years of family counseling and from .studying God’s Word for families.

 

Amazon Review for Man in Command: Great material for men who take being a husband and dad seriously and are willing to learn how to maximize their roles in the family.”

Amazon Review for Loving Every Minute Women:” Great real-life practical examples. It’s a wonderful tool and I find myself rereading it as issues come up.”