There's a vase of lilies on the dining table....
...all green and white and ready to open up in beauty. Every hour they expose themselves more - allowing us to see a pearl hue inside.
Lovely.
Just across the way...there's a seven year old boy blonde in the living room - setting up yet another train apparatus... that will take up half our living space.
This same train engineer of ours pulled not one...but two of his teeth on Friday. The baby is gone and the big boy has come.
Toothy, silly, and smart.
Sprawled out next to him is his Daddy - aiding in locomotive assembly - scaffolding our firstborn man-child so he can problem solve and make adjustments and handle life as it twists and turns, rises and falls.
This blessing of a man I married finds himself right in the midst of major changes himself, right on the verge of risk taking, right on the fringes of something new, uncertain.
The two youngest are quiet. Both bundled up in bed for nap. The youngest is fighting a fever that sprang from the shadows unexpectedly.
And I'm here - with candle dancing, and Pandora playing....
trying to process life's shifts:
Buds to flowers
Babies to boys
Certain to uncertain
Well to ill
Sometimes....change happens all sudden like.
And ready or not - transition is immanent.
Knees tend to knock and hit the hard floor.
Minds usually scatter and emotions fly.
Backs can ache - curving at the pressure....
Like the stretching and bending of the arched petals of those lilies.
Like the pushing through of adult teeth.
Like the coming of new roles.
Like the suddenness of an illness.
Yes - life has it's way of pouncing, doesn't it?
In both the good and bad. Life is usually a mixture of both, it seems.
But in it all - there's artistry.
That Creator of ours - using all things to push forth life and grace and goodness.
If you find yourself in a season of sudden change or in a moment of drastic turn-around....whether it was welcomed or not - understand that you have praying company.
Knowing that others are pitching up similar petitions because they are walking down parallel paths.... this helps us to take one more confident step into the shaky unknown.
We....like the lilies adorning my dining room....arc and open up and seize the change as best we're able.
And as we do so - the bouquet is brilliant.
Abba Father,
We crawl into your lap and nestle in...
knowing that no matter what changes here...
You're always there.
And You're always aware.
And always working for our good.
Show us this...
And let us see it and feel it and know it.
Speak to us loud - in Your Word.
In community
In the Spirit
In the everyday.
Lead us during this time of change and uncertainty, God.
Let us see Your hand on us.
We thank you for Your presence and nearness.
We thank you for this unique season.
Please let it be fruitful and worth it.
Make us into a people that trust You.
Bind every heart that passes by this way....to Your heart, Father.
In Jesus, Amen.
