Moving On

I'm just sad....Our neighbors of the last 11 years are moving.  My 9 year old has grown up with their family - 8 year old girl and 5 and 1 year old boys.  They have seen our son go from a first grader to a senior in high school.  Our 13 year old was two when they moved in.  They are our family in Christ. 




Good neighbors provide a unique opportunity to be spontaneous in our interactions and to minister to one another in very practical ways.  We watch out for each other, borrow when needed, offer encouragement and advice, and in the case of close neighbors, share each others' burdens.  This has been so true as the McCutchens have shared their lives and lived next door. 




To maintain a relationship, we will now need to make a much bigger effort and commitment.  We can't just look out the window or over the fence anymore.  It's an ending and a beginning. 




What will happen?  I don't really know.  I am especially sad for our youngest.  It is yet another time that my heart breaks for my child, and I have to feel so much more than is comfortable.  Meanwhile, school starts in less than two weeks.  My "children" will be in 4th, 8th, and 12th grades this year.  I thought I had more time...........treasure the moments.




...........Yet, we continue to trust and recognize God's hand in all of this (whether we want to admit it or not), because we know that He is in control and wants the very best for us.


Ecclesiastes 3:1-8




To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;  a time to plant, and time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;  a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;  a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;  a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;  a time to keep, and time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;  a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;  a time of war, and a time of peace.

Spring Fever!

In Central Florida, Spring is whenever it feels like not being winter but isn't ready to be a hot and humid summer.  Winter has been fairly mild this year, so we have been having really nice weather for the last several weeks.  As with all of life's transitions, there are progressions and regressions, but for the most part, it has been continuously sunny and comfortable.  Temperatures are mostly in the 70's, dipping into the 50's and 60's at night and up into the 80's at the high point of the day.  I know....that's summer in the north....Here's another way to put it.....we're not sweating yet.....


So, wanting to be outside brings on the urge to landscape and garden.  This is going well except for the pollen.  You see, we all learned in school that Autumn is also called Fall for the falling leaves.  You know....weather cools off, leaves die and fall off, spring comes, they grow new ones...simple, right?  Not in Florida.  In Florida, the trees get confused.  Is it warming up or cooling down?  The result?  Cool Weather = Drop the Leaves.....Next Week, Warm Weather = Grow New Ones.....Repeat... 

The trees aren't the only ones confused.  The plants pollinate like crazy, and as a result, even people without allergies have allergies.....or maybe they have a cold or virus....After all, it's all the same season! 


With Spring, comes new life.  I personally am looking forward to starting a new count in the Spring- Babies born and lives saved.  I'm tired of the Winter.......Are you ready?!?

Eclessiastes 3

New International Version

1There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Vulnerable to the Passage of Time

It's hard to believe that almost a month has gone by since my last post. I have thought of several things to write about, but the one that stands out to me right now is the vulnerability that we all have to TIME. It's funny how the older we get, the faster time seems to go. I remember being a kid and thinking it was just FOREVER until Christmas (even once we were out on school break!). Now, it's late September, and it feels like Christmas was only a couple of months ago. As Moms, this "time flies" concept takes on a whole new meaning. It means that we are vulnerable to the realization (and all the emotion that comes with it) that our children are growing up WAYYYYYY too fast. It seems like only yesterday that......I can hardly bear to think that way. I guess that's one of the great blessings in having my children spaced 4 years apart-just when I "lose" one to preschool, I have a new baby to love at home.

Don't get me wrong-it's such a great thing to watch children grow. I am watching Hannah (my almost 6 month old) with the bittersweet joy that comes with the first year. A tiny helpless infant that, in 12 months time, develops into a walking, talking toddler. It is SO amazing-so fun to watch, and yet, seems to happen in the blink of an eye sometimes.

There are times I wish I wasn't so sentimental, because it really hurts a lot to be so exposed. I think, though, that it also allows me to experience things more deeply and fully. The great thing, I realize, is that with family to share life's experiences and pictures that document the journey, we can go back in time in our hearts and minds, continuing to learn through reflection accompanied by broadened perspective. We start to see the patterns and how God has placed us to interlock as pieces in a puzzle. We begin to glimpse the vision that He has for our tiny part in the world, and we acknowledge what He has always known and been trying to tell us from the Beginning-that God is God and we are NOT, that He actually does know what He's doing, and that He DOES indeed want what is best for us, even if we can't see it that way from our limited viewpoint.