SEASONS OF CHANGE

Our youngest daughter graduated from high school last weekend. As my husband and I celebrated this milestone and several others which converged upon us this May, we felt a multitude of emotions. Joy for her, and honestly for us, relief mixed with melancholy that this assignment is now complete and she can launch into the next phase of her life journey, flying into a summer of experiences and then college in the fall.

We are now receiving many comments about empty nests, which although true, I would prefer that we use the analogy “open door” to describe this next stage of parenting our adult children as they venture into the world. If you haven’t read this Atlantic article, I’d highly recommend it. As we encourage our daughters to thrive in this world, we want to continue to nurture our relationships so that they feel welcome to enter our open door into a loving, supportive embrace, and yet be empowered to rely more on God than us for wisdom and understanding, confidence and growth. Truly, if they follow Jesus, who is the source of these virtues, they will have all they need.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord.  Isaiah 11:2 NIV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;

in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 CSB

We’ve found the best way (at least so far!) to cultivate a genuine spirit of following Jesus is to live that out in ourselves daily, sharing through a habit of spiritual practices, discussion, prayer, and verbalizing discernment – so that our children can observe what it means to have a living, breathing faith. Praying the Shema - a foundational prayer in Judaism -  encourages living out your faith in daily life, connecting with God’s presence.

“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your city gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 CSB

God has given a sense of peace and confidence, that when we rely on Him - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - our efforts will not be in vain, but instead, with His blessing, produce beautiful fruit in our families. The fruit may look different than what we expect, but it will be praiseworthy nonetheless. But sowing into our family - by living out daily faith in Jesus - takes HARD work!

Right now, for our family, the work is about trusting God in the midst of BIG life transitions. It’s not easy, but the effort is worthwhile. When we are amid hard situations, it’s so GOOD to remember two things – first, Jesus does these difficult things with us (and has suffered the hardest for our redemption), and secondly, those challenges only last for a season. As parents, we need to continually pull up to see the bigger picture, and remind ourselves and families that our lives play out in seasons.

For everything there is a season,

   a time for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die.

   A time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to kill and a time to heal.

   A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to cry and a time to laugh.

   A time to grieve and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.

   A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

A time to search and a time to quit searching.

   A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear and a time to mend.

   A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate.

   A time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NLT

As most of you know, my season for leading the Epic Kids ministry has now ended. This is a time for the Epic families community to become even closer and flourish as a new leader is sourced and established. In the meantime, excellent leaders will carry the mantle and ensure your children are receiving the blessings of fellow Christians nurturing the next generation every Sunday. Bea Moraza is temporarily leading the Epic Kids team – she is an accomplished educator and spiritual leader who is raising two sons along with our Executive Pastor, Will Moraza. I have full confidence not only in Bea, but also in the many men, women, and teens who are selflessly giving their time and talents to provide a vibrant, age-appropriate experience to the kids at Epic, allowing them to belong, believe, and become followers of Jesus.

While my season of administration of the Epic Kids ministry has closed, my love for parents and children remains steady and true. Know that I’m a fellow sister-in-Christ, who is eager to pray with and for you, so please reach out if you need prayer! I’m looking forward to a new season of sowing into relationships as God leads me in this new life stage, even as I am SO GRATEFUL for these past 6+ years of leadership at Epic and 30 years of working in education. I pray this blessing over you and your families in hopes that you experience God’s blessings, grace, favor, and peace, no matter the season you find yourself in at this time.

‘May the Lord bless you

   and protect you.

May the Lord smile on you

   and be gracious to you.

May the Lord show you his favor

   and give you his peace.’

Numbers 6:24-26 NLT

Grace and peace,

Annikki

What Epic Kids  are learning in June:

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