Submitted by Robin Wiley
So Graduation Sunday just happened (okay – about a week ago from Sunday actually), and I am both emotional and excited that it’s over. It was a lot of work to put the videos together but so worth it to spend time with my high school senior kiddos. I cherish each interview and time spent connecting further with each one as their youth pastor for the past five years.
It’s emotional for me because I realized that I had welcomed this motley crew of tight-knit friends into the youth group when they were 7th graders, but they welcomed me into their heart and lives. I was their new pastor that year and we both nurtured and helped each other grow in our faith walks together. I am so proud of each of those kiddos and am excited for them because I know God has great plans for each one of them.
It is hard for me to say goodbye, but I can’t EVEN image how hard it must be for the parents! All eighteen of these kiddos were raised by good, faith-abiding Christians in our church and for some – this is their first child going off to college. We all want to stay connected with them and hope and pray they don’t forget us (me mainly!! LOL).
This next “Mysterious Ways” article touched on a little of that same emotion – of life going on and moving forward – whether we want to participate or not. God thinks of us in those moments when we are saying goodbye to our son or daughter as they go off to college. God is thinking of us in those moments when we are stressing about not hearing from our kiddo in quite a while. God is thinking of us when they make a decision to take a job after college in a different state. God is always thinking about us.
[Guideposts May 2020 Issue, by Terry Halbach, Waterloo, IA]
I got to my feet, brushing the dirt from my hands, and surveyed my garden. It was early spring, and so much was in bloom – the marigolds, the impatiens, the ivy climbing the trellis. But my pride and joy had to be my rosebushes. I had cultivated many varieties, with blooms that ranged from white to scarlet. All of them were thriving, their buds just starting to open…except one.
It was my latest addition – a yellow rosebush. Yellow roses are my favorite, and this little plant had looked so hale and hearty at the nursery. I planted it, but within weeks it had started withering. It became a scraggly, pathetic thing. The leaves turned brown and began to shrivel.
Roses are notoriously finicky. I watered my new purchase carefully, fed it, even talked to it. Nothing seemed to work. I felt disheartened. I’d been feeling that way a lot lately.
My younger daughter, Emily, was about to graduate high school. In a few months, she’d be off to college. My older daughter, Allison, was getting married. Her husband-to-be was in the military, stationed in Germany. Just days after the wedding, Allison would be going back with him – 4,000 miles and an ocean away.
Allison was entering a new phase of her life. Both my daughters were. I was thrilled for them. I loved helping Allison with her wedding plans. But as a single mom, I found the stress of juggling all the to-do lists and everything on my own was taking its toll.
An now my rosebush was dying. I’ll have to dig it up tomorrow, I thought, going inside to start dinner.
That night, in bed, I whispered, “Lord, I feel so along. Send me a sign so I know you’re there, watching over us. So I know everything will be okay.”
The next morning, Emily headed out the door for school, only to turn back inside. “Mom, you’ve got to see this!”
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s your roses! Come see!”
That little rosebush I thought was dead? It now looked green and vibrant. Sprouting from it was a tight cluster of roses. Three beautiful roses – one for Allison, one for Emily and one for me. In the language of lowers, yellow roses mean “I’m thinking of you.”
God was thinking of me and my girls. He always would.
RW Comment: Amen – we are NEVER alone! Even when things are changing all around us, God NEVER changes, nor does His infinite love for us. Enjoy your Tuesday!
Prayer: Father God – as the Psalmist says in 115:12 – you are “always thinking about us, and will bless us.” I pray that you continue to watch over all of our families this summer and bless us beyond measure. Let us feel your love in the moments we spend together with our children and family. And let us share that love with others. In Jesus beautiful name – Amen!