This Devotion for July 14 from Faith's Checkbook by Charles Spurgeon was oh so appropriate after farewelling Son#5, DIL#5 and The Most Adorable Granddaughter#8 after what was a too-short visit (it would never be long enough for me!). The older I get the more I appreciate the words of renowned Christians such as Spurgeon. Daily Devotions from this book can be found here for free.
Burdens Cast on Him
"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee; He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved" (Psalm 55:22).
It is a heavy burden; roll it on Omnipotence. It is thy burden now, and it crushes thee: but when the Lord takes it, he will make nothing of it. If thou art called still to bear, "he will sustain thee." It will be on Him and not on thee. Thou wilt be so upheld under it that the burden will be a blessing. Bring the LORD into the matter, and thou wilt stand upright under that which in itself would bow thee down.
Our worst fear is lest our trial should drive us from the path of duty; but this the LORD will never suffer. If we are righteous before Him, He will not endure that our affliction should move us from our standing. In Jesus He accepts us as righteous, and in Jesus He will keep us so.
What about the present moment? Art thou going forth to this day's trial alone? Are they poor shoulders again to be galled with the oppressive load? Be not so foolish. Tell the LORD all about thy grief and leave it with Him. Don't cast your burden down and then take it up again; but roll it on the LORD and leave it there. Then shalt thou walk at large, a joyful and unburdened believer, singing the praises of thy great Burden-bearer.
Charles Spurgeon knew what it was to have burdens. He suffered ill health (his and his wife's), controversies and tragedies, and, like me, had a son living overseas (one son served in New Zealand for eight years). I suspect he and his wife Susannah missed their son at least as much as I miss mine (and that was at a time before phone calls and internet made keeping in touch so much easier - although I wouldn't mind the long letters but perhaps not the slow post-by-sea service)!
When Son#5 and DIL#5 first moved overseas I felt that our family had been shattered. I have recently found a group online called Scattered Families which better explains our experience. It's amazing what a difference one letter can make. Yes, my heart was breaking when they left, and yes, I miss them terribly, and yes, it's even harder now that there's a grandchild and I've met her and fallen in love with her. But they have to live their lives and go where they believe the Lord is leading them.
DH and I did a similar thing when we moved from Australia to New Zealand to be closer to his family. I experienced loneliness and a sense of misplacement (I had grown up in an area where my ancestors had settled in the 1800's) and I missed my friends and family. But at the time I had no idea of how difficult it must have been for those I left behind.
For my family, where there was only my sister and I, the loss of one daughter must have been so much harder for my parents to bear. Not that we don't miss Son#5 and DIL#5 and The Most Adorable Granddaughter#8 - we do and very much so - but we still have four other sons and daughters-in-law and a bevy of wonderful grandchildren to add joy to our lives here. Yet, we are only too well aware that one part of our family is absent.
When - and if - DH and I imagined the future, we envisioned ourselves growing old with all our family around us. Travelling the length or breadth of New Zealand to visit was the most that we thought we would have to accommodate. There was always the unspoken assumption (on our part - the family might not have shared in it) that for family events everyone would gather together: Christmas, significant birthdays, other celebrations. They still occur but there are often empty seats at the table (figuratively since with so many every available physical seat is taken up) and most definitely in my heart, but God brings comfort in other ways and for that I am truly grateful.
Meanwhile I treasure the moments I have with Son#5 and his family, just as I treasure each and every moment with every other member of the family ... from the early morning wake up calls ... to the over-long phone calls (I suspect one Son sees it as a way of getting some peace at home by giving the phone to the children) ... to the video chats that bring them closer and yet emphasise the distance ... to the car trips to visit (even though I hate travelling) ... even down to the sticky finger marks on the windows.
