Wherever You Are

I remember one day when Adelade was about seven. We sold our couch on Craigslist so we could replace it with something a little bit smaller. It was taking up our entire tiny living room, and a nice man in a cowboy hat came to pick it up, telling us that his wife had been looking for something just like it for quite awhile. I thanked him for buying it, and when I shut the door and turned to survey our empty-looking living room, I saw Adelade, face pressed to the glass, watching our couch drive away. And, she burst into tears.

Change can be hard on little people. Heck, change can be hard on big people, too. When we moved across the state a decade ago, I worried myself to death about how the kids would handle the change. How long would it take for this place to feel like home? Would they cry every night, wishing they could be in their old house, with their old friends?

Thankfully, in no time at all, they had settled right into their new routine and our new life. As much as we missed our sweet, tiny home in Texarkana, before long we felt a sense of that at-home peace that you get when you walk in the door of your house. I knew that, once again, God was gracious enough to help us love home.

I tend to think that it’s His presence and peace that make the difference. As Rich Mullins sang, “I am home anywhere if You are where I am.” I like remembering that now, when we’re on the brink of a new phase for our family, one where Adelade will strike out on her own, making a new home at college while life goes on here for all the rest of us. I have no doubt that she will be thrilled by her new adventure, but it sure helps to know that the Lord will go with her. It won’t be the cute dorm room, the fast food options, or even the sweet people who will make her new world feel like home. It’ll be Him, ever-present, a comforting companion, and an all-knowing, all-working God.

Maybe there will be some part of that seven-year-old Adelade left inside of her, one who cries big tears at the thought of change. But it’s such a blessing to be able to hand her real truth when she needs it. The truth is that no matter how much changes in our lives (and the one constant of life is that things are always changing), we serve a God who never, ever changes. He is the same, always. He’s constantly good and constantly lovely, and He is with us. He’ll be near to all five of us, and he’ll keep our hearts knitted together across the miles and the various experiences.

I’m looking forward to seeing what He does in her life, wherever she goes in the future. As a mother it’s precious to remember that He’s already there, and He’s prepared a life for her to step into, even though it’s all still a mystery to us. Wherever we are, wherever we go, He leads the way and will never leave us. That’s the kind of truth a young woman on the precipice needs. And it’s the kind of truth her mother needs, too.