Trust Yourself

Do you trust yourself? It may sound like a silly question, but do you? Chances are if you have found, and keep coming back, to this Web site you just may be a mom like me who has raised her children and is looking for more for her life. Searching. That was me several years ago. Lost. Another apt adjective to describe me. When moms’ children grow up and walk out the door so goes the mom’s primary function out the door too. Alone. A third word to describe this time of a mother’s life. It is not a pretty time. We think back to our own mothers and others who would warn, “Enjoy this time. It will go by so quickly.”
Yeah, yeah, sure, sure. I wished the diaper phase and the no-sleep phase would speed right along. But then, just as the wise ones knew, the time was quickly gone. Over. Kaput. The bad parts are gone, but so are the good ones. And a mom is left alone – alone physically as well as mentally much of the time. If you’re like me you forged such a bond with your young ones that you find yourself missing their company around the dinner table, at church, around the living room.

But we go on. We moms are a resilient sort, aren’t we? Back to my original question: Do you trust yourself? Do you trust yourself to forge ahead? Do you trust yourself enough to let go of the past knowing that there is a future not only for your children, but for you? Years ago I didn’t have a clue what my life would be like now. My purpose had grown up…and left. Only in the past year or so have I begun to get a handle on this new phase of my life. Before that, there was constant soul-searching with many tears of sadness, frustration and anger.

So if you are in the time of life I just described, take heart, because a different life awaits you. My different life has all to do with words – my writing. Yours may go in that direction or in another direction. Take the time to trust yourself, to begin to figure out your new place in God’s world. Because we all have a purpose in every stage of our lives. Take the time to question and listen. Do lots of knocking on God’s door. Beat it down if you must until you get an answer. Be patient. Don’t give up.