We were all talking rapidly and excitedly as we walked from the airport to the van after picking up Nana (my mom) for her Christmas visit. This was her first time to our new home in Oklahoma, and I don’t think sugar could have pumped our kids up more! The van was rather crowded and some of the kids wasted no time in turning that gleeful chatter into complaining about being cold or squished. In fact, there was quite a ruckus for a minute or two. Into that noisy moment, my three year old interjected, “Everybody, calm down! It’s only temporary!” I’m not clear on where he first heard that phrase, but it cracked us up! No more complaining, only laughter that such an astute sentence could come from the mouth of a little boy!

As all good visits do, this one, too, came to an end. We were more somber as we walked into the airport to see Nana off last Saturday. We huddled in a large circle as she came to each of us with a warm and tearful embrace. The children were sobbing and sniffing, tears streamed down my cheeks unabashed and, yes, people were staring.  As I reached for my mom to hug her goodbye, I whispered with a slight chuckle, “Calm down, it’s only temporary.”

“That’s a good thing to remember.” Mom said.

As I sit here now, with life trying to right itself after a whirlwind of holiday activity, I’m still missing my mom and in-laws who came in for the Christmas break. I’m missing the tree and the music, the laughter and the food. I’m gazing down the unknown road that will be 2014. I feel sadness and fear with a little worry mixed in. I’m thinking how that phrase from my little guy is appropriate for the life of a Christian – for our entire lives. For the born again believer, this life in this flesh is the worst it can get.  Are you sad? Me, too. But it’s only temporary. One day, we’ll be with our Lord and loved ones in Heaven.  Are you lonely? It’s only temporary. Are you sick? Or broke? It’s all only temporary.

I’m a child of the King, and my home is not of this world. So this sorrow I feel certainly will not last forever. God has been so good to me, that even on this Earth my joy will surely come in the morning. (Psalm 30:5) The next time everything is upside down in your world, just remember to calm down. It’s only temporary.

With love,