Where Will You be in 2027?

"Where do you think we will be in 10 years?" At our house, this question is a favorite conversation starter on date nights. We regularly laugh at the notion that we can predict the future. 10 years ago, I would have NEVER guessed that my life would look anything like it does today.

At the time, our oldest was in Pre-K and the youngest was 20 months old. Our youngest had developmental delays and she was not speaking. She was going to physical, occupational and speech therapy and was wearing leg braces. Our oldest was terrified of most things, including the thought of going to school. My slow starting youngest is now one of the most active (and loquacious) pre-teens I know. My brave oldest faces down challenges and is thriving in all things education. But on March 22, 2007, I could not have predicted this path. 

Tonight I was teaching our Lenten study at church. We are calling it "Cries of Redemption." The topic we discussed tonight was relationships. As we talked about the changing roles that people play in our lives, I was struck by the ever morphing rhythm that brings people into and out of our lives. Sometimes it is a geographical move or a birth or death. Sometimes it is an interest or activity that links you for a time. And sometimes, there are relationships that were once vital and closely held that are now fractured and separated.

As I stared at the drawing we did tonight, I realized that there is pain with any relationship loss, but in each change came a new level of wisdom and listening and vulnerability. When we experience the loss of those we love, we are invited to examine the how's and the why's. We are given the opportunity to clean our own side of the street in understanding the brokenness or grief. We are granted access to liberation from wounds of yesterday and we are given the freedom of what's next.

I will never be able to predict the future. The more that I ask the 10 year question, the more I enjoy that the unknown is just that - even when it comes to the humans that mean so very much to my journey today. Because the truth is, that is all we have. We have this time and this space and these people for today. May we soak up all that we need from all that we love.