My babies left me today for the entire weekend....for the first time ever! My husband is a youth pastor and will be taking the teenagers on a weekend fall retreat. I've taken my daughter on one of these retreats when she was about 4 months old, and she did great. She was in that beautifully portable stage that babies are a that age. They sleep anywhere and go to anyone.
As my daughter grew, her portability deminished. She was disruptive during lessons, running around during the activities, and made it impossible for me to be a responsible chaperone. It was just easier for me to stay at home with her while my husband traveled on these trips. While I adore my daughter, I grieved that a part of my ministry with these teenagers and their families had changed.
By the time my daughter was weaned and old enough to stay with family, our son was born. Long story short, it's been four years since I've gone on a youth trip, and I REAAALLY miss it. My little bubby is now 19 months old. He's never been away from both my husband and I for more than a day, but we both decided he could probably handle a weekend away from us, so they are both spending the weekend in KY/IN while we go on our Fall Retreat.
I have mixed emotions. On one hand I'm thrilled to have kid free weekend so I can focus on the lessons, minister intensely to the students, and participate fully in the activities like the high ropes course (YIKES). On the other hand, I'm worried about how my kids will do away from me in a completely different state. My little guy is a momma's boy and my little girl has a runny nose today. I know they are in good hands though, and more importantly I know that my God is in control. I'm thankful for Him for giving me this opportunity to be recharged and revitalized. Not in the conventional sense, because let's just be honest, I probably won't be getting a lot of sleep this weekend. I do plan on being recharged by feeding on God's word and also getting a "break" from being a frazzled mama. Time away is good, right?! ::hold me:: :) Happy weekend everyone! God bless!
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