I have titled this blog "Sundays and Seasons", reflective of the various aspects of my life as a woman who is a mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and also a pastor's wife. Sundays and Seasons pretty much covers all the bases that my life encompasses: Being a pastor's family, how a ministry life affects the home dynamic, the experiences of having 3 children who are in various stages of life, as well as growing older alongside my pastor husband.
My husband's name is Jeff and in August we will be celebrating 25 years of wedded bliss, as well as wedded struggles, victories, trials, survival, sorrows, and triumphs. Anyone who has been married for 25 years has probably come through a lot and can attest that there is a lot to celebrate! We have been through many seasons of raising children who have put us through the gauntlet of the parenting decathalon. We've dealt with issues from infant reflux to pacifier withdrawal, OCD and TIC disorder associated with Tourettes Syndrome, public school and home school, depression and panic attacks, lost homework, found homework ( after 10 years of being lost! ), picky eaters, self-esteem issues, sibling fights, sibling love, and fear of the dark. Even helping them through such tragic issues as the untimely deaths of childhood friends..Is that more than TEN? I did say decathalon. But of course any parent knows it's more like 5 or 6 decathalons while running a few marathons. Uphill. In the dark.
This whirlwind of parenting 3 very active, very talented, very DIFFERENT personality types of children, with very different needs, becomes even more interesting when you throw being a pastor's kid into the mix! So needless to say, there has been a lot we have learned, laughed at, cried over, and lived through!
A NEW SEASON
I mentioned surviving the infant reflux and pacifier withdrawals, didn't I? Well, this past weekend that little girl who used to keep us up all night, rocking, walking floors, going for midnight drives in the car and using kittens as bribes to take the "pappy" away, walked down the aisle on her daddy's arm, to be given away to another man. Thus thrusting us into a very new season of life as the parents of a married "child". I realized not long ago that I am now older than my mother was when my dad gave ME away! And my daughter, Jordan, is now older, at age 22, than I was when I gave birth to her at 21!
This is a thrilling time for our family. We adore Ryan, the young man who was absolutely hand-picked by God as a perfect compliment to her! They are both in worship ministry together, and I love watching them laugh with each other. Their senses of humor will get them through many rough patches, I'm sure.
As happy as we are about this blessed union, it has not come without some bittersweet moments and tears. It is such a strange thing to think
that the little one you held in your arms as a young, know-NOTHING, girl of 21, has grown into a woman who is ready to go her own way and start her own family. When I first looked into that little face 22 years and 9 months ago, I had no idea what was in store for my heart!! So many memories have flooded my mind lately, of red cowboy boots, toy horses with broken feet from some hard galloping, t-ball and softball games, tender-headed hair-brushing, pink slips for forgotten pencils, and agonizing over homework. I have been there for the high highs and the low lows. I have smiled smiles and cried tears she will never ever know about.
As the years passed, we never could have dreamed of the musical talent that would blossom, from those first years of pecking on the piano, to the first DRUM SET, to 6th grade saxophone playing ( Shut that door while you practice!! ), and to that first Takemine guitar on Christmas morning. There were months and months of practicing in a New York basement while watching every finger movement in those Steven Curtis Chapman videos. We knew early on that there was something there that God was going to use in a special way.
But what makes me most proud is seeing the passion and hunger for Christ that has grown in her heart. She is truly a seeker of God's will, having a heart for women in prison, for teaching, and for writing and performing music that touches people's souls, and very importantly displays her love for Him!
I have loved watching the special relationship she has with her dad, and seeing the transition from older sister who couldn't wait to get away from her little brother, to the older sister who can't wait to get home so they can hang out and drive us crazy with their jokes and laughter and Spongebob quote-athons! And she has been the most admired person ever for a baby brother who is 12 years younger than she is. His biggest thrill is when Big Sis comes home for a visit, and his deepest sorrow is when she leaves. That is really saying something of his love for her.
So how is it possible that this new season has come so quickly upon us? The years have flown by, but in other ways, it seems we have had her forever. In fact, she has been my daughter exactly HALF of my life! But as my husband reminded me when he was giving her away on Saturday, she was only on loan to us for a little while. She has been learning all her life to leave our nest and is now ready to fly on her own. Yes, it is bittersweet, but I know she is ready. Despite my mistakes and failures as the mom of a firstborn.
There is a song that I used to know that tells us as parents to "hold on to the years"...A mom holds those precious years so closely, and there are some things that are not meant to be written down in blogs or on facebook, but we are to do as Mary did, just ponder them in our hearts. So as seasons come and go and continue to change, I say: Hold on to the years! The memories are precious and priceless treasures...And before you know it, the red cowboy boots become red wedding shoes. And they will be put away in her own closet, in her own home....With her husband's shoes beside them!
"I wa-wa", Jordan Shea!!
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