Happy June, My Friend!
Ahhh, June—how I love this month! First of all, I love the name “June.” If I were to have another daughter, I’d name her June. Since I’m 64 years old, I don’t see that happening. Maybe I love June so much because I have the least responsibilities during this month. However, admitting it here for everyone to read makes me sound like a lazy person. And if left to fester and go on to the dark side, this “Yay! I don’t have a lot to do!” can turn into “Yikes! I have nothing to do!” which can spiral down into “Dear God! I have no purpose in life!”
Every now and then, when that spiraling takes over, I want to text Kevin and say, “Hey! Would you mind swinging by Publix on your way home from work and picking me up a purpose for living? Thanks!”
The other night, I had dinner with some friends. We all have grown children in various stages of “young adulthood.” Some of the younger ones are in college, and the older ones are married with kids of their own. So basically, our child-rearing days are over. We all have a lot going on in our lives that gives us purpose and keeps us busy, but those days of being a hands-on, everyday mom are behind us.
One of my friends then shared a pearl of wisdom so great that I asked her if I could share it with all of you, as it encouraged me, and I wanted to pass it along. So, here’s the pearl . . .
My friend, whom I’ll call Christi because that’s her name, was in church, and her pastor was teaching from John 17. She had her Bible open to that page. He was talking about a different set of verses from that chapter, but her eyes fell on the part under the subheading “Jesus Prays for His Disciples” (verses 6-19). She had been praying lately and asking God, “What is my role now?” regarding her “job” with her three grown-up children. And she felt God was telling her, “Follow Jesus’ example.”
There was Jesus’ example right there in her lap. John 17:6-19.
Jesus had lived with His disciples for the past three years—a significantly shorter time than we typically have with our kids. But live with them He did. He taught them. He demonstrated how to live. He was a hands-on caregiver. He was about to be betrayed and sentenced to death, and He knew it, so He knew His time with His disciples was coming to an end. So what was His next role? What did He do with those in His care?
He prayed for them.
Praying was His “next right thing.” They wouldn’t be living together anymore. They’d be separated. The time for hands-on teaching was over. But that didn’t mean He was done with them. What can you do when the ones you love aren’t with you any longer?
You can pray for them.
I can’t say it any better than Jesus did. This is Jesus talking to God about His disciples, but if you read it with the idea that it could be a mother (or father) talking to God about her (or his) grown children, it’s very powerful. Here it is, and I’ve removed the verse numbers and notes to ensure it reads smoothly. I’ve also underlined the parts that really resonated with me as a parent of grown children.
“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
Phew. That’s a prayer and a half right there.
I found this pearl from Christi to be so encouraging! My kids have been grown up and gone for several years now, and I pray for them daily, but sometimes I can fall into the false idea that that’s not much. Because I don’t seem to be “doing” anything. But maybe that’s how it should be—God is the One doing the “doing.” And, by gum, if Jesus prayed for His loved ones when they were about to be separated, then I guess that’s what I should do, too!
Aha! My purpose! It’s not in the frozen foods section of Publix after all! It’s right here in John 17!
Maybe you don’t have kids to pray for. Could there be someone, perhaps someone you’re not “hands-on” with anymore, that you can lift up to God? We may no longer be physically with those we love. But God is. He’s got their backs. They’re in His hands—and those are some pretty mighty hands.
Written with love – – – Patti XOXO
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
Corrie Ten Boom