Room to Grow

… the Lord answered me and put me in a spacious place. Psalm 118:5

Those who know me will be expecting this week’s devotional to be about change. Or maybe loss. Or maybe even a stirring tribute to my two oldest children who left this week for college. Guess I won’t completely disappoint you, as this is about change and the kids’ moving. But instead of memorializing the two older ones (who I do think are great, by the way), I want to focus this thought on the son who is still at home and the important lesson I learned from him last night when we returned from our daughter’s campus and the “BIG MOVE.” You see, Nick had been home all day and had texted me several times complaining about being “bored” and “hungry.” So I was expecting to return to a surly, sad, and lonely 16-year-old. Instead, he couldn’t wait for us to unload our car of empty boxes, and before we could shower the grime of the day away, he called for us to come upstairs to see and hear what he had done. Dutifully, we pulled our weary, sad selves up the stairs to check it out.

What awaited us just cracked me up! Instead of moping around and feeling sorry for himself for being left behind, the kid had really made the most of the situation. Being the youngest, he has always had the smallest bedroom of the three, even though at over six feet, he is no longer the “little brother.” Also, he is an avid musician with a voracious appetite for instruments and all the gadgets that go along with them. (Bet you can see where this is heading.) His room has always looked like someone’s overstuffed garage or a crowded flea market booth. Yes, you got it. While we were gone all day, Nick had moved an old desk, an amp, a huge pedal board, guitars and stands, and all manner of stuff into the bonus room that the three kids had shared for school work and socializing. He sheepishly said, “Listen to the new song I wrote today,” and proceeded to play it for us. After receiving appropriate praise, he asked, “I moved in. Whaddaya think?” I think he thought we might be a little upset, but we both smiled and said, “Good thinking, Nick!” And we chuckled our way back downstairs to clean up and get some much needed rest.

What did this amusing experience teach me? Well, several things. Change can be a great catalyst for growth. As my husband likes to say quite often, you can choose to be “bitter or better.” You can’t always control what goes on in your life, but you can choose to make the most of it. Secondly, the end of one season is also the beginning of another. Nick took the opportunity of a day spent all alone to write a new song. I can do the same thing in this new season of my life. No, we may not have as much time to sing our old songs together, but new songs can be exciting, too, and just as stirring to sing. Finally, whether you are doing the sending or are the one who is heading out into the world, God isn’t finished with you yet. There are new spaces to explore and new territories to claim for yourself and, more importantly, for His kingdom. Make the most of this new day He has made. Rejoice and be glad in it!