My husband and I attended a retreat recently for parents whose children live and work in lands far away. You know one of the greatest gifts we have to give loved ones and friends is the gift of understanding. Every attendee of this retreat relished in this shared gift of understanding. No one had to explain themselves when they shed tears as they talked about their children and grandchildren. We all knew that tears were only the expression of a love deeply felt. 

   I have written a book, Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, which deals with the power of negative thinking (or what I call fiery dart thinking) and how to overcome it. The enemy is relentless in shooting fiery darts such as anger, fear, doubt, despair, and loneliness, just to name a few, to those of us whose children are separated from us by vast oceans. The good news, however, is that in our obedience and our children’s obedience to the call of God upon our lives, God has equipped us to counter the attack of fiery darts. One of the major ways He does this is to bring to mind Truth Thoughts from His Word that succeeds in causing the fiery dart to miss its mark. 

   For example, when my son and his precious wife left to take up new lives far away from home and family, I thought my heart would break. Here are a few of the fiery darts I encountered (The Journey Begins, 1/4/2012).

      Fiery Darts        

-This is too hard

-I can’t manage this

-I’m not able to do this

                -This will overwhelm me                 

  Truth Thoughts

– I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

– God tells me not to worry about tomorrow, Matthew 6:34

-My grace is sufficient for you, 2 Corinthians 12:9

-Though (you are in pain), you will not be overwhelmed, Psalms 37:24

   This is how God has taught me to manage the pain of separation and now that we have two more precious grandsons, He is once again enabling me to manage successfully from a grandmother’s perspective. 

   Please notice that I use the word ‘manage’ because you never stop feeling the pain! Instead due to God’s promises I am learning how to live with it. I am also learning that obedience brings blessings and opportunities that seem to come out of the blue! (and I wonder, would those blessings and opportunities have happened had I remained focused on my pain?) 

   Yes there are sacrifices and there is pain. But along the way God has been equipping me to manage them as He continually reminds me that it will not overwhelm me. And, honestly, based on what I have experienced thus far, this is a wonderful life! 

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