Nesting

Tuesday in the Fifth Week of Lent

Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy.
Psalm 126:3

I scroll through the pictures of our daughters as toddlers, remembering significant life-moments of growth and discovery. And recalling too what I loved about parenting--how they changed me, called me to confront my limitations, helped me lean into my gifts, and taught me more about love that I ever knew was possible.

And now, life circumstances have sent our young adults back home to us. Our empty nest no longer empty. And it is still a nest. A place of food and warmth and comfort. A place of limits tried and gifts called forth. A place of challenge that inspires growth—for all of us.

As we reconfigure ourselves into this particular present, the laughter and joy of past moments becomes available all over again. Yes, in recollection and shared stories of do-you-remember-when, but also in new ways to celebrate one another, encourage one another, to call out the best in one another. Together we lean into the Love that surrounds us and is deeper and truer than we can ever comprehend.