Good morning…
Last Monday night, we had dinner with our small group, a group we’ve been meeting with regularly for several years now. Each time we’ve gathered, we’ve shared a meal and talked about faith and kids, weddings and grandkids, aging parents and life’s highs and lows.
One man asked, “Throughout your lifetime, what life phase has been your favorite?”
One person replied, “Whatever phase I am in is my favorite.”
Another said, “I love this phase of living near our young adults and their growing families.”
Others agreed, “This adult children phase is the best.”
In the moment I stayed quiet. I didn’t really know my answer. Returning home, I went to sleep pondering the probing question.
First thing in the morning, I received a text from an old friend in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. We had moved to that close knit town when our kids were just 6, 4, 2, and 2 weeks old. Walking everywhere – to the church, the school, the park, the market, the post office and Steve’s office – and living within driving distance of both of our extended families, I was living the life of my childhood dreams. We only lived for two years in that one-stop-light village, until Steve was called back to the Lovett School as head chaplain in 2003. My friend shared a photo from that transitional summer.
“Hi Sue,” she wrote. “I just came across this beautiful photo of your family, and was thinking of you! So grateful for the time we had with you and your wonderful family. Hope all is well.”
Sitting beneath our back porch here in Atlanta, Georgia, I broke into tears, big sloppy tears. This was it. This was the phase I loved most in my life. Kids all under the same roof, muddling through life together, moving through our days as a chaotic, connected clan.
I let myself cry, really cry.
To my surprise, our new puppy instinctively leaned in and licked my tears. What a gentle, loving gesture. It reminded me of a short story we had just read in our book, God’s Joyful Surprise by Sue Monk Kidd.
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One of my favorite sermon stories is about a little girl who went to play with her friend Marcy. She was late returning home and her mother met her at the door. “Why are you late?”
“Marcy’s puppy got lost,” the little girl replied.
“Did you stay to help her find it?” the mother asked.
“Oh, no,” she said. “I stayed to help her cry.” (234)
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That ordinary Tuesday morning, my old friend returned and our new pup arrived, each stayed to help me to cry.
By Friday morning came the image that allowed me to more fully process my answer to his simple question, “Which life phase has been your favorite?”
God lives through old friends and new ones, children and puppies, helping us to grieve and to thank, to miss and to trust, to ache and to be grateful for the story He is writing through us.
Immerse them in the truth, the truth Your voice speaks (John 17:17, VOICE).
…Sue…
