"I never want to move again!", screaming with tears our daughter expressed verbally what we all were feeling. We were packing. Hard decisions needed to be made. What do we take? What do we store? What do we give away? But, always when we do this packing and moving thing, the most difficult thing to "store... or give away" is the people. Leaving the relationships are the hard decision that we have to make.
"I am just so mad!", she yelled. "I just want to live in the same place with all the people I love and for no one ever to move again. I want all my family, all my friend and everyone I love to live in the same place forever!". She wept. She was angry.
How do you respond to a sweet tempered ten year old when they are screaming out with such sadness and anger? My husband wisely just invited her on to his lap and held her as she cried. She cried. And she cried. This isn't the first time she has expressed outwardly the difficulties of this aspect of our career. So Dave held her. Then he simply said, "I know. I feel the same way!". The words were like the "Be still" that Jesus spoke to the wind and the waves! Looking up at him, in his arms, she said, "Really!". Instant calm.
Sometimes it is just good to know you are not alone. It is good to know that what you are feeling is normal. ...Or, at least, understood. This was enough to calm her emotions. She could sink deeper into his lap. They could talk again about God being her home. She could articulate her hope of heaven... the place where all those we love never have to move from! They could talk about her deep longings being from God. Right. Good. Pure longings. This frustration with separation was, in fact, "eternity written in her heart".
Lord, may we know you as our Rock. May we know you as our home. Be with our children and guide, protect and bless their hearts.