Hot Second
Time flies when you are in the middle of the oh so lovingly named “sandwich” generation! (If you haven’t heard this term, you are luck! It refers to those who are in the middle of raising children and helping their parents as they age)
I thought I knew the realities of this time of life when I was exposed to it in college. When I had young children and my father passed away suddenly, I thought I knew. I can tell you now that I knew nothing then! Because now, now, I have a high school child and a middle school child with all the activities and commitments that come along with it and a mother with the beginning stages of dementia, I really get it. And let me tell you, “it” is a lot.
Work and personal time fade away—absorbed by the doctor appointments, football games, band camp, biking, trips every appointment and meeting. It all stacks up quickly. Life goes fast.
Here we sit in the middle of September. Where did the time go!
What happened to the worship services I hoped to post?
How did so much time pass without posting a prayer or a pandering?
How is almost Advent yet again?
All that to say it has been a hot second since I could sit down and write. It has been a hot second since I could focus my mind and finger to compose anything and for that I am sorry and repentant, but also not.
Life happens and life can be hard.
This past Sunday’s text was on the parables of the lost coin and lost sheep. I chose to focus on the grace that God set before the lost objects. God cares enough about each lost person to seek them and that God rejoices when the lost return.
So, I rejoice in this moment.
I got lost in time, in to-dos and schedules, in carpools and doctors’ appointments. Time has simply slipped passed me. And today I am thankful that God’s grace is there before me, calling me back. Welcoming me in this moment and rejoices that I found the time TODAY sit with God and share with you.
I make no promises of what the future holds, because God alone knows, and I am doing my best to cling to each moment as it comes. That seems to be the best I can do right now as time flies past me.
Living in the sandwich generation is hard. But God’s grace is here too, right in the middle. I just have to let it find me!
May it find you this day.
God of all,
who creates, sustains, and guides us forward,
In the craziness of life and the business of our days, may you slow our steps and our minds
that we may feel your grace enfold us.
May you whisper sweet comforts into the craziness that surround us
that we may know your peace in the depths of our souls.
May we pause and feel your spirit.
May we breathe and know your love.
May we be yours, now and always.
Amen
