Come next August, Sherri and I will be empty nesters. Yes I am sad and a bit scared, but I think the emotion I feel the most is restlessness. I can't put my finger on it. I realize this is the next phase and it is what Sherri and I have been working for over the past 21 years with Clayton and Maddie, but I can’t shake the feeling of restlessness. What will the next "phase" consist of? When this next phase was still far away I thought it would be a time that Sherri and I could travel, spend more one on one time, sleep late on the weekends, or maybe take long weekend trips without planning the adventure four months ahead of time. It would be a time we would move into the city or maybe the Galleria area and "downsize" and live the cosmopolitan lifestyle. Eat out even more, travel more, and enjoy the good life more. Now as it gets so close, I am restless. Do I really need more self time? Do I need to live the “good life”? Is that really the purpose of the empty nest phase? Do Sherri and I really need to get to know each other again? Heck we have been married for almost 25 years. Trust me; we know each other VERY well. We know the good, the bad, and the ugly. The kids (great kids) will be in college; our work is almost done. What work is left will take less time and more money. All this leaves me with is restlessness.
With this restlessness I have a bit of fear in the bottom of my gut. The fear comes because I think I know the source of my restlessness. I am afraid that God maybe stirring in me. Does God maybe have something Sherri and I should be doing during next phase other than enjoying the fruits of our 25 years of labor? I don't think he is sending us to Africa to feed the children, but what if there is a family here in Houston the needs a hand. I don’t think He is calling me to proclaim the gospel on the street corner downtown, but what about my neighbors and the people I work with everyday? I don’t think He wants me to adopt an orphan, but why not be a foster parent for a child that just needs a place to call home for awhile. I don’t think He wants me to sell all my possessions and give them to the poor, but maybe he is asking me to be generous beyond practicality.
Ok, I have been almost too honest with you here. All I have left to say is: I am not sure what’s next, but I am praying that my plans for the empty nest don’t push out God’s plans. I have lived long enough to know that God’s plans are always the best. I leave you with a verse we read in small group today. My hope and prayer for Sherri and I and all of you is this, no matter what “phase” you find yourself is that you take hold of life that is truly life!
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. I Timothy 6:18-19
With this restlessness I have a bit of fear in the bottom of my gut. The fear comes because I think I know the source of my restlessness. I am afraid that God maybe stirring in me. Does God maybe have something Sherri and I should be doing during next phase other than enjoying the fruits of our 25 years of labor? I don't think he is sending us to Africa to feed the children, but what if there is a family here in Houston the needs a hand. I don’t think He is calling me to proclaim the gospel on the street corner downtown, but what about my neighbors and the people I work with everyday? I don’t think He wants me to adopt an orphan, but why not be a foster parent for a child that just needs a place to call home for awhile. I don’t think He wants me to sell all my possessions and give them to the poor, but maybe he is asking me to be generous beyond practicality.
Ok, I have been almost too honest with you here. All I have left to say is: I am not sure what’s next, but I am praying that my plans for the empty nest don’t push out God’s plans. I have lived long enough to know that God’s plans are always the best. I leave you with a verse we read in small group today. My hope and prayer for Sherri and I and all of you is this, no matter what “phase” you find yourself is that you take hold of life that is truly life!
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. I Timothy 6:18-19


