One thing I will always be is honest with you. The past couple days were joyful getting out there and sharing the book with others. Yet behind the scenes, the reality is we are finishing packing up my parents to move them in the next couple of days.
This may sound silly for an almost forty year old to be disheartened about moving her parents. Yet the truth is, they have shown up for me in life in so many ways. When I was in the pit of depression and couldn’t get out the door with my two toddlers while Stephen was at work, they were at my door. When I was so low and at risk of harming myself, my dad drove me to my friends baby shower. When my children were born they were at the hospital waiting to meet their grandchildren. They’ve showed up for our children’s activities throughout the years from step up days, concerts to sports events. When I called them on their road trip to tell them I had cancer, they turned the car around and drove sixteen hours to be beside me, Stephen and our kids. They aren’t just my parents, they are love and the people who you want to have around you in life. They celebrate the joyful times with you and sit in the pit beside you. They don’t judge you, they love you for who you are, where you are. They exemplify God’s love and I have been so blessed to have them in town with me for this long. And I know they are a plane ride away but it’s still a change and transitional time.
As I write about in my book I believe The End Is A New Beginning, Life Lesson #53. Although this is the end of this chapter, God is doing something new.
I share this with you, partially for my own therapeutic reasons, and also because we all in one way or another have experienced the end of a season that is near and dear to us.
I invite you to join me to...
Pause. Breathe. Pray.
May we give thanks for the season that is now over for what it gave us and taught us. May we open our eyes and hearts to the new beginning ahead of us. Yes, we may need to grieve as we let go of what was, and be okay with not being okay at times. Yet may we trust that God is doing something new and will make good of this ending as we turn the page to the next chapter in our story.
With love and hope,
Shawn