December 29, 2022
Even In The Empty
Gwen Smith
Today’s Truth
For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night (Psalm 90:4 NIV).
Friend to Friend
There was a time I would hide in the bathroom for an ounce of quiet and reprieve. An intense time when diapers drooped, binkies bobbled, and toddlers toddled all over the busy, boisterous Smith house.
Those days are gone.
My husband and I have three young-adult children, and a wonderful daughter-in-law, and are figuring out how to settle into a new season with just each other. Huge portions of our hearts are now spread across three states and another country.
Empty nest. I get why they call it that, but I don’t think it’s an empty season at all. On the contrary, it’s quite full.
Full of exciting dreams and complicated feelings.
Full of unknowns, uncertainties, and unrest.
Full of stretching, stirring and stillness.
Full of loving and letting go in the most exhilarating and exhaustingly wonderful ways. Much like the holidays.
So, we release, rally and rest - knowing God goes before us, even in the empty. Often especially in the empty. “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:14 NIV).
You and I can step into the crisp newness of today, the freshness of a new year, confident that the Lord who satisfies us in the morning with His unfailing love pours comfort into souls swollen with sadness. Confident that no matter what hurts need healing or what chaos needs calming, Jesus is able to do exceedingly and abundantly beyond what we can ask for or imagine when we yield to His Spirit and are rooted and established in His love.
We’re thankful that our generous, faithful Father gives gobs of fresh mercy each morning and supernatural strength for each weakness.
We celebrate, convinced that our Everlasting Lord, El Olam, has a plan - a master plan of hope and of a future. And it’s not just for our children, or our grandchildren, but for us.
For me. For my husband. For you.
Psalm 90 reminds me to be mindful of God’s limitless nature and grateful for each sunrise. "For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night" (Psalm 90:4).
Days and years... mornings and evenings... breaths, deaths, and generations.
Each a treasure chest of minutes and moments that whisper the fleeting nature of humanity and the infinite hope of Jesus.
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, Please teach me to number my days and walk in Your wisdom. Establish the work of my hands today, Lord, as I celebrate the gift of now and the hope of tomorrow. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Which do you need to do today: release, rally, or rest?
Grab a journal or visit our comments section and write 5 things you’re grateful for. Celebrate today as a gift. Forgive what needs to be forgiven. Love well.
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© 2022 by Gwen Smith. All rights reserved.
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Originally published Thursday, 29 December 2022.
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