The summer my daughter got married she
came home for a short time and packed up most of her belongings. The little
that remained was either sold in a yard sale or donated to a local
charity. Her room sat empty, except for one antique dresser. Weeks later my
middle son, along with three roommates, leased his first house. He also cleaned
out his room. It sat empty across the hall from my daughter’s room, except for
one desk he no longer needed. A couple of weeks after that, we dropped our
youngest son off at a college more than 400 miles away. His room was also
empty, except for a few items he stacked in boxes in a corner beside his bed.
In the space of a few short weeks, all three of our children were gone. Their
empty rooms bore witness to our new status as empty nesters. To be honest, my
wife and I were pretty depressed that summer.
Deep inside we knew we should not
complain. We had three healthy children who were all in various stages of
getting an education and had bright futures ahead of them. Perhaps part of our
struggle was that we had almost lost our younger son when he was four
years old due to a severe car accident. We remember the wrenching pain in our
chests when the doctor told us to tell him goodbye because we were not likely
to see him again. We also remember the joy we felt when we found out he was
going to make it. After such a horrendous experience, we were filled with
gratitude that all three of our children were alive and healthy. But it still
hurt for them to live so far away.
Many of my friends who had already
experienced the empty nest told us that after a while it would get better. They
were right, but for that whole season, it just hurt to have our children so far
away.
Imagine how it must have felt for the
Heavenly Father to send His Son Jesus down to earth, knowing the pain, hurt,
and heartache He would experience? But it was what had to happen for the
justice of God to be fulfilled. In the end, it was a good thing, but there must
have been moments when it hurt the heart of the Father. As we deal with our own
empty nest, we must remember that Jesus’ story ended with the salvation of
mankind and victory over sin and death. While our own children obviously will
not accomplish as much as Jesus did, they may very well change the world. But
it requires us letting them go, even though it hurts.
Lord,
help our children to continue to walk in the truth, and thank You for
sacrificing Your Son for all the children in the world whom You are calling to
Yourself. Amen.
This post is an excerpt from the book, The
Heavenly Mundane: Daily Devotions from Ordinary Experiences. Filled with stories of how God spoke in
big ways through small events, the book will encourage people to look for God
in the mundane things of life. Great for both personal use and to give as a
gift to friend, either the print version or the e-book version may be purchased
at this link:
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