Reunion

The outcome of the game was a mute issue compared to the outcome of the weekend. My son Tom and his wife Rebecka and their almost 3 month old baby Emma flew into Dallas from NY on Friday and stayed with friends. We picked them up early Sat. morning and to go to the game while their sweet friends babysat, and then after the game came back, visited for a minute, picked up Emma, and headed to Austin to join the rest of our family for introductions and dinner. Yes introductions! Tom and Rebecka had not yet met baby Molly, and the rest of the gang from Houston, with the exception of Aunt Molly had not yet met Emma. I could not hardly wait for my whole gamg to be together under one roof and we had till Monday. There were 15 in the house and needless to say it was busy. Two babies, one toddler and three fairly independents (ages 5, 4, 3). There was activity on all fronts, even in the midst of the rain.

At the end of the trip, I asked Tom if his expectations had been met, and he said they had been exceeded and he turned around to me and said, "I know yours were high, how did they come out?" Beyond imagination, I replied, it was a most wonderful weekend. Jon and Blake had to leave on Sunday, and on Monday, Mel took Tom to the airport on his way back to Houston, Rebecka and the baby left with her parents about the same time, (she was going to get to stay a few days in Austin with them, much to their delight) Molly had class, and that left the girls and their five kids with me, to pack up and finishing picking up. We were all out the door pretty soon after.

We loaded up in the cars, not soon after, heading to the newly opened, down the street, hamburger spot and I realized that I, in the rush, had forgotten to do a couple of last minute things. I dropped my group off to meet Jamie's and while they ordered and ate, I would drive back, just a few miles, and catch back up with them shortly. No worries, a playground and a good stop before a long drive. Even in the short drive back, my thoughts were racing to remember all that we had shared in just a few days. But when I parked, and unlocked the door, it was so weird to open that door and for there to be complete silence. I just stood there a minute, in a breath of overwhelming reflection and looked over the clean house, and all the spots that had been occupied by little people and aunts and uncles and grandparents and now had been vacated, pillows fluffed, chairs back in their places, blankets folded, kitchen cleaned, as if no one had been here for weeks. It was not even an hour ago when the activity was at a peak, and now complete silence and the house was back to just being a house. Oh but we have the blessings of the memories. This time will never be again, but the blessing of fellowship will leave its mark on our hearts, until we gear up and get to do it again.

God had blessed this time and all of us who were there. His spirit lingered and hovered, as it always does but when you are in the middle of the clamor, it often times goes unrecognized and unaccounted for. When I went back and opened that front door I was bombarded by the silence. Silence, I think of generally as a gentle, subtle, component that God uses to generate our awareness. But the silence that I was struck with was such a stark comparison to what I had been accustomed to in the past few days, even in the past hour, that I found it almost to be jolting. Have you ever felt that way? When you have returned to the scene of an event and the place is the same but the people have gone? There is a defined contrast that does generate a swelled awareness of what was then and what is now.

When you are in the middle of a bustle of activity, distractions are at your every turn. Silence is the unnoticed guest who lingers in the corner. Silence is illusive yet is powerful element that God uses to generate reflection and awareness of his presence. And it is in the silent times, that God helps me to reflect on his ways, his power, His protection, his provision, his ability to actively position people, personalities, events, and blessings for his purposes. This was one of those times. I was bombarded, for sure, with the silent awareness that though the doors had been closed and locked, God remained, knowing that I was returning, and that he would use that time to further remind me of the blessings that he had bestowed.

This weekend was his doing. Every one of my days is his doing. But it is in the silence that he gives me pause to acknowledge his very presence, and be grateful for his overseeing of every part of my life, be it joy or adversity. Sometimes, we have to return to the place of activity, now in silence, so God can distribute the blessings of the memories to our hearts. For it is in life's everyday experiences that God builds us up through our faith and our trust in Him. And it is in the silence that we take note and make note of his sovereignty.

Silence can be a source of sadness and of joy to all of us. But one thing we must take account of is this: In the silence, God will always hover over us, to love us, to comfort us, to grow us, to cry with us, to laugh with us and to direct us. And it is so often times in the silence that we truly are blessed with the fellowship of God himself. He is always available, but we are the ones who let distractions keep us distanced from the reality of his presence.

It was a glorious reunion of family, but as I reflect on this weekend, I know that only God could have planned for this many puzzle pieces to come together without anyone getting sick, or there being any
hiccup of transportation, or delay. I am grateful for the silence that was awarded to me even before day was done, and the recognition that the minute the door was unlocked and reopened that God was lingering. I was able to thank HIm, without distraction, in that very place, for organizing and directing the joy of the weekend and all the players.

Psalm 102:27-28
But you remain the same, and your years will never end. The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you."

Dear Lord, Thank you for the silence that you award to us. For it is in the silence that awareness of you is is genuinely generated. Help us to seek that silence and embrace it when it comes out of its corner. But more importantly help us to reflect on you, and your power and presence that hovers upon us and your love that is within us. Amen

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!