I am the youngest child of three boys that my parents have. My oldest brother is 4 ½ years old, and my middle brother is 2 ½ years older. I remember vividly when one by one my two older brothers left home for college, and the house got quieter and quieter. My first night at home when my middle brother left was a bit odd – honestly weird, and I remember it well to this day. But for my parents, I was still at home when the other two left, so I’m not entirely sure how they felt when just two short years later I left for college to never permanently to return home again. After raising three active boys for 22 ½ years, the house was left to just mom and dad. I was thrilled to go off to college and find my new path. But somehow my parents had to seek out what was next in their life.
We call this part of life the ‘empty nest.’ Of course, the term comes from the momma bird who raises the little ones in the birds nest until they can fly off on their own. Reactions to the empty nest for us as humans are very broad and can range from freedom and exhilaration, to depression and a total loss of purpose in life. In this summer sermon series, I felt led to seek out biblical direction to the many stages and chapters of life that we often go through. But the reason I believe that we need to pay attention to the biblical counsel is because we as Christian people tend to make poor decisions and even panic when we don’t see God’s hand and how He directs us to be Gospel people in every chapter of our life.
This Sunday I will address this ‘empty nest’ chapter of life. Unlike some of my sermons where we focus on just one passage, this week I will be looking at many passages. So how can you prepare for our worship together? One of the Scriptures I will be looking at closely in the first Psalm. It is one that gives us strong direction as to how to carry on. So in order to best prepare I encourage you to read Psalm 1 before you gather with your church family for worship this Sunday.
Yes, I am addressing this message toward the Empty Nesters. But I can promise you, even if you are not in this chapter of life right now, everything we deal with has implications and applications to the rest of us.
See you Sunday for worship! (and the picnic to follow!)
