I love my porch. It offers a sense of comfort to me, a quiet place to read and reflect, an opportunity to communicate with my spouse and children, and a spot to rest my feet when the day has been long. I’ve waited for family to come home, rocking rhythmically in the silence of my surroundings. I’ve watched the horses grazing in the nearby pasture. I’ve listened to birds chirping and the dogs barking. And I’ve gazed at the stars in the darkness of the night.
The other night I sat with my two-year-old granddaughter. The moon seemed brighter than ever. Her mom and dad are at the hospital with her new baby brother, and I have the wonderful privilege of looking after her while they are busy with him.
I remember when I first became a mom. I had read just about every parenting book out there and was determined to do it right. Over the course of ten years, I brought 6 children into my family. Oh how I wanted to protect them from harm, but they all got hurt, some worse than others. I wanted to keep them stable and secure, but they have suffered grief and brokenness. In all my planning, I failed to realize the one thing I cannot protect them from is life. We really do not know what to expect, what might be waiting on us just around the curve.
There is an Indian proverb, “Everything will be good in the end, and if it’s not yet good, it’s not the end.”
Life is messy, complicated, hurtful. At times it is comfortable, joyful, intriguing, and lighthearted. There are times when we have to force ourselves to take a simple step and other times when climbing the highest mountain seems a bit too easy. In every stage God is with us. In every detail, God has planned our futures. The importance is in knowing He is there, until the end.
And as I sat with my granddaughter gazing at the stars from my porch, acknowledging the vastness of the universe and the power just in the creation of the night sky, I marveled at how truly small I am and how gigantic my God is.
“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong,firm and steadfast” –1 Peter 5:10
