We All Need a Village!

Sausage and eggs on the stove top, coffee brewing, and a discussion with Rory about whether or not there are consequences to our sin, even after it is confessed and forgiven.  Now, that's the way to start a morning!  I'm going to miss these days.  ESPN is playing in the background while Ian gathers up his stuff to head to school.  We've come a long way from fixing two lunches, marking their names on the brown paper lunch bags, combing their hair and walking them to the bus stop. We may only have time for short conversations here and there, most of which are on-the-go, but our busy lives are still intersecting in the kitchen at the table.  And I like it!

It's Monday, my day off.  And after taking inventory in the refrigerator, I sat down alone at my kitchen table to make a list of groceries for the small meals we will likely eat at separate times with our crazy busy lives. As I was making the list, I glanced up to see a young child skate-boarding in the parking lot, and remembered my kids being young and playing outside.  Then I saw a mom and her son get into their car to leave for school, and remembered the way our neighborhood was years ago, when we all crowded into Michele's van in the winters, and headed to the bus stop as a neighborhood - as a village.  But my "village" isn't the same as it used to be, and lately I've found myself frustrated to the point of anger.  And, I miss Michele. 

You see, I used to feel safe.  I felt respected, cared about, and valued in my "village."  We were a group of people raising children, most of whom attended school together.  We car-pooled, we shared house keys, grieved the loss of grandparents together, had BBQ's, and kept an eye on each other's kids together.  Now, no one waves, most of our friends have bought new homes and moved out, and the people who are moving in are not interested in this being a "village."  There are no friendly "good mornings."  No one even thinks about shoveling the snow for an elderly neighbor now-a-days.  And the parking spot I pay a monthly fee for is taken by others frequently.  It doesn't feel like a village anymore, and at times I find myself angry about this.

But I am reminded this morning as I reminisce at my kitchen table, of a conversation I had just last night with a young lady in college.  We spoke for over an hour, and she told me about how she is praying for her parents, and how much she is loving college and looking forward to the future.  I'm reminded also, as I glance at the empty pie plate on the kitchen table, of my friend Claudette who has loved my boys since they were toddlers.  She brought us a home-made apple pie last week. Then the phone rings, and it's Mum.  She wonders how my weekend at work went, and we talk about what we're cooking for dinner, and what's happening in the news, the two of us always commenting on what Dad would think of the world today.  Then as I sign onto facebook, I can't help but remember Ian being young and going over to play with his friend Jordan, as I enjoy some photos of Jordan's parents welcoming him home on leave from the Marines. They are so happy to have him home safe.  

I have been so blessed all of these years with not just family who loved Rory, Ian, and I, but with incredible friends.  Some from the neighborhood, some from school, work, family, or simply life-long friends, and together we have been a village for each other.  I have always believed that it takes a village to raise children, but as I grow older and life changes, it's becoming clear to me that we ALL need a village, and that village may change, as mine continues to do.  

I was unknowingly limiting my idea of "village" to my neighborhood, because when it changed, I felt my "village" had disappeared.  But it doesn't take much reminiscing about the blessings in my life to realize the bigger village God has planted me in ! 

I now have the pleasure of watching my grown children study through their college years and plan their careers, and the pleasure of seeing from a distance as my son and his fiance plan their wedding and a new life together.  There are godly women in my life I can call for prayer and advice, who have walked the roads before that I currently face, and those behind me who I can share my experiences with.  The Lord has divinely placed each person in my village, and sometimes, he even sees fit to remove a few, so that my village is just right, just the way He wants it!  My village is ever changing, and the older I get, the more I realize villages are not just important for raising children in - They are important to grow older in as well!  Today, I'm just feeling incredibly thankful for all of the people in mine, and thankful for those in the villages of my children too!

Thank you all, for being a part of our village!