Abeyance?

Really?  Where did that word come from?  Have I ever seen it before? What does it mean? Who knows? If I learn it will I ever be able to use it in a sentence? I am fascinated sometimes by words.  Words I didn’t know, words that I might use again in a crossword puzzle or a game of Words with Friends.  Czarina.  Another good word that might aid you in competition sometime.  Wouldn’t that one be fun to add to someone else’s Czar in a game?  But, I digress.  Today I want to talk about Abeyance.

This morning was a typical rainy morning in Western PA and I was at my dining room table doing my morning devotions. I read from the book of James in the Bible and was meditating on taming my tongue, familiar but something that is always worth repeating. I went on to read from a couple of other sources and ready from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young a devotion that started with, “Come to me with your plans held in abeyance.” Abeyance?  Is that a typo?  What does that mean?  I visited my Webster’s New Young American Dictionary because it usually presents information in an easier version for me, but Abeyance didn’t make the cut in this 1995 edition.  I then had to go to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary where I learned that Abeyance means temporary inactivity or suspension.  Hmmmm. Interesting.  But, as far as  a devotional, I wonder what that means to me.  Sarah goes on to explain that we aren’t to make plans, but we are to ask God to guide us through our day, doing what He wants us to do in his time.  OK, I get that.  I will try to do that.  As I pondered, meditated and studied more, I heard an odd noise, but didn’t really pay much attention to it.  It wasn’t that odd, I was just aware of it.  The coffee maker brewing? The bathtub draining? Just not sure.

My son came downstairs, grabbed his breakfast and before heading out, said, “Funny thing.  I fell asleep in the tub and the water ran over. See you later. I love you!”  Out the door he went.  I shrugged my shoulders and kept reading.  I even texted a friend about his parting words.  Just another day in the life!  After she replied that what I see as normal, others see as panic, I thought I should at least investigate a bit.  So, I headed to the kitchen where I could see the evidence of water upstairs on the ceiling.  I rushed upstairs to dry up the mess knowing full well that my son wouldn’t have done a good enough job when I was greeted with a dry bathroom.  No wet towels on the floor, no water, no mess.  He had done a good job mopping up the water.  He had done as much as I could’ve done.

What a gift that I hadn’t responded to the odd noise.  Had I been privy to this information earlier, the clean up would’ve entailed a lot of yelling, bickering and harsh words.  No doubt.  The abeyance I was granted to the situation helped me tame my tongue.  Both testimonies to why my morning routine is vital to myself and to my family.

Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts than yours.

That simple truth saved me a lot of grief this morning.  Thank You God!

 

 

A Loss

I got a message yesterday that my Dutch son lost his mom.  Kalle is a friend that my daughter met on the internet years ago.  She started writing to him while she was in high school and always referred to him as a penpal so that I wouldn’t keep referring to him as some “creep she met online.”  After months of her getting to know him online, we had the opportunity to meet him while we were traveling to London.  When she asked if she might be able to meet him while we were there, I said she could as long as she was handcuffed to her dad the entire time.  We kept our travel plans very vague with her in case we were still dealing with a creep who wanted to abduct her and we finally gave her a meeting spot.  She was to meet him standing under a clock in the train station.  He was to be wearing one green sock and one red sock.  We were pleasantly surprised when we saw Kalle and not a creep under the clock.  Before we allowed my daughter to approach him, we allowed him to meet her older 6’4″ brother and her dad.  Finally, he got to meet his penpal and we had a wonderful day touring the city.  It amazed me how similar he was to her friends from home.  Just a typical teenage boy, it seemed that we had known him forever.  Since she often wrote of her family, he knew a lot about us and asked us questions.  It was hard to remember that he was from a foreign country so far away.  We genuinely liked him from the time we met him.

He later came to visit us and spent a few weeks in our basement touring our neighborhood and then we went to visit him in Delft, Netherlands.  He was a gracious host as he showed us his beautiful country and reintroduced me to bike riding.  Now, this “penpalship” has branched beyond our daughter and has included the entire family.

Though I’ve never met his mom, we communicated online a few times.  I knew of her courageous battle with cancer and I knew of her sons’ attention to her.  Kalle talked of her often and I kept her in my prayers .  I mentioned her to friends and shared stories of her battle with others.  Yesterday she lost her battle with cancer.  Now, this friend of mine, who lives 3,852 miles from me is hurting and all I can do is send a facebook message and a prayer.  I wish my favorite “Netherlandian” could get a big hug from me, his “American Mom.”  But, for now, we’ll just shed tears together yet apart for his loss. My daughter sent me a text yesterday that said, “Sorry for your loss” and I replied “Sorry for your loss.” It is amazing that we truly feel a real loss for a woman that we had only got to know through stories told by her son. That truly says something for the power of the written word. I hope she knows how much I cared about her and how much I will continue to care for her son in her absence. Kalle, I am sending you all my thoughts and prayers. May your Mom rest in peace.  God Bless You All.