A Week of Lasts

I can no longer say I am married to a 30 something. Katie turned 40 on Sunday. Last time either of us are in our 30’s.

I can no longer say I have two children in elementary school. Seth “graduated” from 5th grade on Friday. Last time to have either boy in elementary school.

I can no longer say I am not (yet) a parent of a teenager. Luke turned 13 on Friday. Last time to parent pre-teens. This also means it is the last time I have the nicest phone in the family (Happy Birthday, son).

I can no longer say I get to take my kids to school every morning. Birti and Seth will go to a new school next year. Last time to drive them to school.

That’s life, isn’t it?

That’s pretty much the way it goes. You wake up in the morning. You go to bed at night. Before you know it, without even considering it really, you turn around and there is a new season. You can’t go back and relive the previous season. It’s gone.

But again, that’s life. Seasons. Weeks of lasts.

Soon it will be the last day I have any child in elementary school.

Then it will be the last day not to have a high school graduate.

Katie and I will have last days to be in our 40’s.

There will be a last day to only have two cars. A last day I don’t pick up one of our kids from practice. A last day to get them from school to a friend’s house. A last day to not worry about them behind a wheel.

A last day they live under our roof.

A last day not to be called grandparents.

A last day for my kids to have grandparents.

I, like you, can choose to get sentimental and wonder “where the time went.” I can get stressed because of so many birthdays and Mother’s day and graduation gifts I need to purchase. Or, I can be glad that I have people in my life to do this with. I can thank God for the last season and ask Him for help to be present in the next.

Jesus knew about lasts. There was the last day with the Father and Spirit before coming to Bethlehem. There was the last day He was “incognito,” before He went into public ministry. There was a last day a blind man would be blind. There was a last day when Peter believed it was impossible to walk on water. There was the last day Jesus would be alive as the “unResurrected” Jesus. There was the last day He was dead. There was a last day sin had the upper hand.

But I never get the feeling He had any regrets. He was (and is!) always present, enjoying the moment in front of Him.

As I said, that’s life. Seasons. Weeks of lasts.

Lean into them. Thank the Father for the last one. Draw near to the One who knows about seasons as well as what is coming. Join Him in what He’s doing next.

If you think about it, today really is the last today. Don’t waste it.