Vacation, Empty Nest Syndrome, and Hope

Returning from vacation usually means coming back with renewed energy and happy memories, (even though we know the return also means unpacking, doing laundry, putting away items, answering emails, etc.!)  Ah, yes, but the MEMORIES REMAIN!

Sometimes, we come back to face an “Empty Nest Syndrome” even though our adult children left home years ago, or perhaps because our children- still-at-home are moving into an unknown we never had to face. 

Empty Nest Syndrome occurs anytime we are involved in the process of change, whether that change is happening around us or within us.

At UCH we experience a nest, empty of how it used to be: of Bingo games, potluck suppers, flea markets, and other gatherings.  However, we balance out that sense of “emptiness” with the reality that we have come very far in building a foundation utilizing technology enabling us to reach the hearts of others city-wide, nation-wide, and world-wide through Zoom – something we did not even imagine 10 years ago. 

Although we might not see dozens of new faces appearing at our worship service, we know that our outreach of Transitions Groups, recorded sermons, Bible Study, Healing Circle, Guided meditations, Podcasts, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram etc., are touching the hearts of others by the responses we receive.  And isn’t that what church is about, anyway: providing outreach avenues where people are encouraged and inspired in their own relationship with the Holy One.

Awareness of an empty nest syndromes always calls us to look deeply at our values and their relationship to the reality we are living in now.  It calls us to grow through problem solving.  It calls us to renewed hope in a God who is still speaking.

We can, therefore, rejoice because an empty nest of “what used to be” is being filled in another way – a way we had not imagined.  This is a time for hope and encouragement – because “we are not done yet.” This a time to remember that our God is a God who provides what we need as we continue moving forward into the Unknown of this marvelous Journey of Faith.