"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24
Well, we did it. We made it through our first season of Noisy Narratives. This year has been incredible - difficult and transformative in equal measure. No matter who you are, life has moved forward in the past months and days with all its ups and downs because that's what life does. It doesn't stop and ask us if we are ready for the next thing. The "next thing" just happens.
I have a Senior graduating from high school and moving on to college in the Fall. We are SO excited for him and everything he is about to experience and learn at Texas A&M. My husband and I have incredible memories of our college years, and we hope and pray our son's journey is as blessed as our own. But boy, are we going to miss him. So much.
So, time marches on. This year our son is heading off to university, next year it's our daughter's turn. Then we have one year free of saying a new goodbye before we send off our third. Things are happening fast and we are not able to keep our kids from growing up. At this point we are praying they remember what we have instilled in them, pray they forgive us for our many mistakes, and then we begin the process of looking at life differently. Not worse, not bad, just different.
Ecclesiastes 3 says "for everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven...a time to plant and a time to uproot ... a time to weep and a time to laugh...a time to embrace and a time to turn away...a time to be quiet and a time to speak...." There is so much emotion in that passage of Ecclesiastes, because so many feelings are a part of the human experience. Joy, pain, love, grief, peace, excitement, anger and happiness... too many to name in this blog post.
God gave us our emotions, they are a part of who He is and he made us as a reflection of him. Some days my emotions are a joy, sometimes they are thrilling, other times they move me to action, and still other days they feel like a burden. Feelings of loss and sadness are undesirable and hard, but they also remind me I am human and I have a Savior who provides and is life-giving. This world does not give me life, the Creator of this world does.
Right now some moments are more emotionally intense for me, while others are small points of reflection like, "Wow, this is really happening and my boy is really leaving - but he is SO ready." Either way, whether I am in tears or laughing through a memory, I want to chose to live well during this time. But, that is easier said than done. Especially on days where one just feels sad, because there is nothing wrong with feeling sad, and the past months have brought some low points for many of us. Working through the hard and living in God's grace in the midst of emotional turmoil is challenging. So what gets us through these seasons?
God's grace and amazing love - I will rejoice and be glad in it. I am going to REJOICE.
This is what it comes down to. As I write this blog and look back on the past year - I am going to rejoice. While I have air in my lungs and breath in my body, I am going to rejoice in the God who made me. I will rejoice in the Creator who made my son and my daughters who will eventually leave my home. I will rejoice in the world He created, and celebrate God's gift of life in this amazing but flawed place with my amazing but flawed people. Because the alternative to a life of joy is ... NOT A LIFE OF JOY.
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:1-5
This first year of Noisy Narratives brought forward so many testimonies from women who have incredible stories to tell. Hearing real-life experiences from amazing women willing to open themselves up to help others is humbling. I have learned so much from them. There is much to appreciate about their willingness to speak openly about hardship and struggle, but one thing I am especially humbled by is their joy. Their love for their Savior and the life they are given. We are incredibly grateful for these ladies. A big thank you to all of those who were part of our first season!
We are going to take a sabbatical from Noisy Narratives for the summer months and will resume the blog and podcast in August. We have lots of ideas for Season 2 and can't wait to share them with you! Thank you all for reading our blog and listening to our podcast - we love hearing from all of you and hope this first year has been a blessing.
Have a wonderful summer!
Until August,
Love from Christy and Debbie