It's been a busy first part of the year already. I thought once the holidays were over, I wasn't gonna be busy for a while. LOL! Was I ever wrong. Seems to be a trend with me, being too busy to blog...
But that's not what I wanted to talk about today. Today I woke up to the realization that both of my daughters are somewhat in relationships with young men. Not that this hasn't happened before, but these ones seem different. I've met both young men, and believe it or not, as much as I should be spending my days instilling fear in them, I really like them. They are both talented in their own ways. And both share a very similar sense of humor with me. My daughters are looking at other men for the first time, and thinking about them first before daddy...
My son just turned 15, and has gotten his driver's permit. He is looking forward to getting a job in another year, and understands modern technology better than me. He's my right-hand man in my ministry, and I believe if anything happened to me, he could do the job no problem! And I believe he's reached the stage where girls aren't "yucky" anymore.
I think I'm about to take the next step in my life. I am facing the reality that very soon, all of my children won't totally rely on me anymore. That they will all very soon leave the house that I reside in and begin to live their own lives. That my three greatest creations will start to think about having families of their own. That I am already liking the idea of grandchildren. That I've gone from being a young man that women desired, to a father figure with graying hair and wisdom beyond my years. Can that time really be upon me?
I know that this is the natural progression of life. It is how God created us to be. His perfect order to the universe. I'm not sure I'm ready for it. I think this is what is referred to as the mid-life crisis. Our lives go through so many seasons. They never seem to be here very long. But I always reflect upon the life of my hero, Abraham. God told him he would be the father of nations and all would be blessed through him. Wow. How powerful is that? But Abraham started as a humble Abram, and had to go through so many seasons in his life before he got to that point.
I can only hope that someday I will look back, many seasons from now, and see those very promises fulfilled in the lives of my own family. That I will have been so faithful to God that my whole family for generations will be blessed in knowing God like I do, and that they are working towards the very same thing for their generations to come. That God will call them righteous, and His friends. That even though my seasons have come and gone, my life was full and rich. My favorite non-biblical poem is this one:
One hundred years from now,
it won't matter what car I drove,
what kind of house I lived in,
how much money I had in my bank account,
or what clothes I wore,
but that the world may be better
because I was important in the life of a child.
This I hope not only hold true for my children, but for every child God places in my care for the rest of my days serving Him in ministry. That as I continue to take each next step in life, I face them with excitement and anticipation of what God has in store for me.
Psalm 37:23 (New Living Translation)
23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
Blessings,
Pastor Brian
