Inside: Before we officially launch 2024 here on the blog, I’m sharing a few quick lessons about becoming an empty nester, my motivation for writing, dealing with vastly different perspectives, trusting God and how my parents live on in my children. ~

If I was more on top of things, I would have posted this while it was still 2023. But I’ve been busy spending time with daughters home from college, family in from out of town and a husband who can’t put weight on his foot after ankle surgery.

Plus, lessons learned one year carry over to the next, right? So before we officially launch 2024 here on the blog (next week with a post about my new word for the year), I’m sharing a few quick lessons from the year just past.

1. The empty nest hits each mom different.

I’ve read and heard all sorts of stories about what it’s like to leave your youngest child at college, and it seems that each experience is as unique as the person who goes through it.

I missed younger girl Molly a great deal this past semester, and older daughter Lilly too, while she was studying in Spain. I don’t recall shedding any tears about it, though. They were both where they were supposed to be, and for me, that helped tremendously with the letting go.

I’m still trying to figure out what the next phase of my life is going to look like, trusting that God will open the right doors when the time is right (more on that in a future post).

2. My parents live on in my children.

Lilly has my mom’s outgoing personality, hospitable heart and authentic desire to connect people. My dad’s calm spirit, logical nature and penchant for keeping track of details are abundantly evident in Molly.

It brings me joy and soothes my heart to see these characteristics on display in my girls, almost five years after we said good-bye to my parents.

3. My motivation behind my writing must be to encourage, not to elicit sympathy or affirmation.

When I’m brainstorming a blog post, sometimes it helps to take a step back and think about why the idea is swirling around in my head. If I’m hoping others will affirm me after reading my words, I’m finding it’s best to set that topic aside, at least for a while. (You can read more about this here.)

4. With our differences, we can cover more ground.

I haven’t stopped thinking about this statement since I first read it in a blog post my friend Ashley wrote to commemorate her 11^th wedding anniversary. Randy and I agree about many topics, but sometimes, we’re so far apart in what we see, it’s as if we are looking at completely disparate scenes.

Ashley’s words remind me that our diverse perspectives can help us see more of a situation together than we could each do on our own. This, I’m finding, is particularly helpful when parenting young adults.

5. When times get difficult or wonky, we have to make an intentional decision to remember what we believe about God and hold fast to it.

This hit home not so long ago, when I realized that my biggest fear isn’t that God won’t be faithful, but that what He ordains for me or my loved ones might be hard. Will I continue to trust Him when circumstances are not to my liking, or even to my detriment? I dearly hope so.

• • •

I could keep going with the lessons from 2023, but I’ll stick to these five. And of course I’d love to know—what did you learn last year that you’ll keep close to your heart or mind in 2024? Please share in the comments.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with #tellhisstory, InstaEncouragements, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.