When my children were growing up, I planned birthday parties for them. They weren’t elaborate. Just the normal kind: invite your friends over, play a few games, and have cake and ice cream. They were fun, messy, and I loved seeing them smile and play until they were exhausted.
Those were good times.
Years passed, and the parties changed. Eventually, those simple kids’ parties were no more. I didn’t realize how I would miss those messy, noisy, and laughter-filled days. But I do miss them. I miss them very much. I’m that parent who, while not the funnest, loved having my kids around. I never expected them to stay home forever. It was inevitable that they would find their wings; I just wasn’t ready for how fast it would happen.
Steak dinner and rolls
Since we live and serve in Africa and three of our four kids and both grandchildren live in the USA, I try to soak in each minute we have with them when we travel. We’ve been on a longer trip than usual this time to reconnect with family, friends, and partners. It’s been a heavy trip, with many bright moments with the kids and grandkids. Hubs and I have exchanged many of those “I love these times” glances.
Yesterday gave us one of the brightest of those moments. Our granddaughter, our eldest son Tom’s and his wife Heather’s daughter, turned 9, and we went to a family dinner to celebrate her. Her party with her friends will happen over the weekend, but last night was a night for just the family.
“My son, can’t you play just one more time?”
Read the poem One more time
She chose steak for dinner, along with rolls she loves from a local restaurant. Before we had ice cream cake, she opened presents. She has a special way of opening gifts: throw the paper and find what’s wrapped inside as quickly as you can.
These are good times.
It’s not lost on me
It’s not lost on me what a blessing it was to have celebrated her last night. We have not been in the USA for her birthday before…I’ve missed 8 of her 9 birthdays and 10 of our grandson’s 11 birthdays. Instead of crying over this, which I did yesterday, I’ve decided to keep soaking in all the moments I can while here.
You might ask – I know I have – Why not move back to the USA? Why stay far from family? Good questions. We stay because the life my husband and I have been given is for Africa. We were born to serve on the continent and are lost when we’re away from our call. There’s this undeniable pull back; there’s nothing we can do but go.
That doesn’t mean that I haven’t tried to find a way out. I have. And each time I’ve tried to squirm away from the call for birthday parties, I find myself pulled back because nothing else brings the same deep satisfaction to my heart as answering the call of God.
I don’t regret a day
Answering God’s call doesn’t mean living without joy. Quite the opposite. There are joys found in obedience that are difficult to explain. Let me try to name a few.
- Doing what God has called you to do brings a satisfaction like no other.
- “How I love to do your will, my God! I keep your teaching in my heart.” Psalm 40:8 (GNT)
- Our obedience to God reaches beyond us. A life lived in reverence and obedience to Him leaves an imprint on the generations that follow.
- “Blessed man, blessed woman, who fear God, who cherish and relish his commandments, their children robust on the earth, and the homes of the upright—how blessed! Their houses brim with wealth and a generosity that never runs dry.” Psalm 112:1-3 (MSG)
- Answering God’s call day after day draws us into a deeper relationship with Him. We learn to hear His voice and walk with Him. Scripture gives us an extraordinary picture of this in Enoch, who walked so closely with God that one day, “he was not.” I picture God walking with Enoch and saying, “Why don’t you just come home with Me today?” What that must have been like?
- “And [in reverent fear and obedience] Enoch walked with God; and he was not [found among men], because God took him [away to be home with Him].” Genesis 5:24 (AMP)
I don’t regret a day, not a moment, spent answering the call. Yes, I cry tears, many tears for missing birthday parties. But God has given me more than I can ever give Him! How can I help but say yes to His call?
So God will wipe the tears that fall when I have to pay the price of being far from my loved ones, and I will thank Him for the moments He gives me with them.
You can receive new articles like this by joining the newsletter. I send occasional updates and new writing directly to subscribers.
If this post encouraged you, I invite you to partner with me on A Cultural Shift through Buy Me a Coffee. Your support helps keep A Cultural Shift’s outreach going. Thank you so much.
Related reading: For more like this you may enjoy the following:
Just Say Yes: Part 1 An Introduction
