Season of Nothing on the Calendar...

As a mom of three boys my life has always been very busy.  When the boys were little I felt the pressure to get the boys involved in many different activities.  I juggled the schedule to have them in seasonal sports, karate, choir, art classes, etc.  Some weeks I would look at my color coded calendar, a different color for each kid, and felt totally overwhelmed.  Often I would be speeding from one activity to another trying to be present for each boy at their activities.  As the boys grew older the activities became more focused on their interests but still we were busy.  One added craziness is that my husband's job keeps him occupied for eight months a year, which meant I did the running alone.  I don't say this as a regret but just fact that this is the way it was.  Some days I would drop in bed at night wondering if I would ever see the light at the end of the tunnel.  There was so much joy watching my kids during these years.  Yes it was overwhelming and exhausting, but the joy outweighed the negative!  I lived and live my life knowing that God has a plan.  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11.

As our children grow we find that our calendar is full through out high school but our responsibility of driving them from one destination to another decreases tremendously when they get their driver's license and as the number of kids decreases as they leave for college.  I am at the point of only one in the house and he has his driver's license.  I know when his practices and games are scheduled.  I know when other activities are scheduled, but I don't have to be responsible for getting him there and waiting until he is done.  It seems like a gradual decrease in my responsibilities however you don't see the gradual decrease, you seem to wake up one day, turn the calendar and there is nothing on your schedule.

This is where I find myself, in a season of nothing on the schedule.  Nothing to do, nowhere to be, nothing on the calendar.  It is weird!!!  Don't get me wrong, I have a busy life of travel and organizing our lives.  My husband is in his baseball season, I visit him.  My oldest son is finishing up graduate school, I will travel to see him for graduation.  My middle son is finishing up his junior year of college, he will be home for a few days before leaving for his summer study abroad.  The baby boy is still in high school, I hold him accountable to curfews and school responsibilities.  Changes have happened.  The busyness of being a mom in charge of the schedule has turned into a mom who knows the schedules but has very little responsibility for them!

I don't know what to do with all this time with nothing scheduled!!!!  How do I fill it???  Do I go back to filling it with things to do just for the sake of doing??  Or do I sit back, enjoy the peace and quiet and wait on the Lord to reveal to me the next season of my life??  Maybe the lesson is to sit and wait. I am NOT good at sitting and waiting!!!!  However, I am choosing to enjoy the peace.  I am making plans for breakfast and lunch with friends, and answering the desperate calls from children who need something from me NOW!!!! (It usually begins with a $ sign!!!)  And I wait, I wait full of excitement, for the Lord to reveal to me my next season.