Joy from Within.

What a hot mess! Pj’s coffee in hand and here I sit on this early morning. Excited for what this day and year will bring. I’ve been told that we should be sad or searching for ourselves as this will be the real empty nest year. Someone close to me actually said, “I really feel sorry for you this year”. Honestly I can’t feel it. Our children are all such a part of our lives every day. The only reason I might be searching for myself, is because I am still so entwined in the wonder of my children's developing lives (I won’t trade that!). What a blessing to be witness to lives unfolding. This stage is different they are not dependent upon me for everything but choose to share with me. We have graduations, weddings, new grandchildren and every day scrambles. How can someone feel empty with all that? My husband and I are beginning to feel like our house is becoming ours again. Okay seriously we are feeling like newlyweds. Each day we rediscover who the other one is, where our relationship is growing or needs support. We are getting to travel and are starting to have a “grown up plan” for the house. I am in love with the guest rooms that sit not empty but ready for visits from family & friends. I admit, while not a grown up space; I had fun making a nursery for grandchildren (and friend’s grandchildren). I am a bubble of energy planning paint colors, meals and date nights. A friend who was struggling with empty nest asked me about my joy. I was a bit perplexed. I was told I would/should feel empty, should I? Pondering this I think the joy in my heart is watching our family continue to evolve. To still be a whole family unit caring about and for each other is something I don’t take for granted. We still plan activities with our children that are thousands of miles away and those I see every day. It dawned on me that emptiness is being left out. Like attending church and being active in the community you feel a sense of unity and belonging when it is part of who you are every day. The old saying “A family that prays together, stays together” comes to mind. I think this could be applied to more than even just the family unit but to our other relationships as well. When your family shares the ups and the downs; when you pray for each other and grow together your growth needn’t be under the same roof. Here’s the catch you need to practice being a family when you are apart just as if you were together. Then no matter where each of you are in life, you feel connected. God asks that we build our relationship with him through Sunday worship. If that was the only time we focused on Him our relationship would be empty. Our Father needs daily attention just as we as parents and children need this. It is awkward to visit with someone you are estranged from. Your conversations falter, your words don’t fit and sometimes further avoidance seems like a good fit. Spending time with those we love and those who love us; builds solid and fulfilling relationships that can even endure separations when they occur. Happiness comes from within but it also is built by what we do every day and how we react to those around us. Nobody can make us happy; however feeling included is part of a bigger picture and can create inner joy if we let it. Soooooo.. I sit here in my pj’s. I am looking forward to the day and what it will bring. There are changes in life but the ride forward is amazing! “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” ~Psalm 37:4 Life is such an example of this. If you delight in your family they will give you joy in your heart. Copyright 2016 Micheline Edwards