Lent Devo

Wednesday, February 17 –  I’m preaching during Ash Wednesday worship and see multiple text come through from my son in Dallas. It’s not until a couple of hours later that I am able to sit down and look at his texts as well as the emails I received from SMU. Both telling me the same thing – due to the winter storm, the campus is now without water. My heart sinks. Since Monday, things in Dallas have deteriorated as Texas was hit by a winter storm that took out electricity and burst water pipes all over the state. The conditions leaving thousands of people without power and water and, now, my son was one of them. And, all my mama’s heart wanted to do was get to my “baby boy” and fix it. To make sure he and his friends were taken care of. To jump in and do what moms do. What’s that? Whatever it takes to make things better.

 

But, this time, I couldn’t. I was too far away. I couldn’t just jump in the car and go. I couldn’t just get next flight out. All I could do was check in on him. Listen to him. Pray with him and for him. And leave it in the hands of someone else to fix it. God’s hands. And you know what? Even without my help, things were ok.

 

Thanks to learning to drive in Nebraska, Wolffe was able to leave campus and pick up some cases of water for him and his friends. The next day, the SMU Moms and Dads Club set up on campus with plenty of snacks, water and other supplies for the kids. And, the kids on campus all jumped in to help move those who had to relocate due to flooded rooms. Things were working out. Not because I jumped in and fixed anything. No, things were working out because God had placed the right people there at the right time. To be the hands and feet on the ground. My job in that moment wasn’t to plan and execute, but to listen, trust and have faith. Listen to my son. Trust that everything would be ok. And have faith that God was right there in the midst of everything. Like always.

 

I can’t say it was easy. But, as I let go of the need to fix things, I realized something – I was doing a better job of caring for my son than when I was running through a laundry-list of things to make things better in my head. I was able to just listen to his concerns. To listen to how he was handling things. To support him with just being present with him. Even when I am 12 hours away.

There are times in our lives where the best thing we can do is just sit back and be present. To not try to fix things. To just be still and listen. To those we love and, most importantly, to God.