Thank you to Eric for taking this selfie and sacrificing himself. This was snapped after their family hike at the Grand Canyon over Christmas.
Impressive!

Tom and Susan own and operate a dairy farm in southern Minnesota. Susan is my niece.

Last month we enjoyed a delightful dinner with Tom and Susan. Both boys, now college graduates, work in other cities.

I asked, how do you like the empty nest? Tom responded first. He is struggling. I love being a parent. And now that parenting days are over I’m struggling with purpose. Anyone can milk cows;  Susan and I were chosen to be Mike and Eric’s parents.

I identified; I was right there with Tom. I’ve been pondering my purpose in this stage of my life. Like Tom and Susan, the melody my life sings is changing.

Change is hard!
Learning new rhythms requires change.
Sometimes I just don’t want to leave the familiar. And I need to; the rhythm is shifting.

God’s path, His purposes for me are NOT shifting.
The rhythm of living out that purpose is.

My word for 2020 is rhythm.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1. The notes in my ESV Bible referencing this verse say, “There is an appropriate occasion for every human event or activity; life is endlessly complex.”

There is indeed a rhythm to our complex lives.

There is a rhythm and God’s unchanging purposes bow to new rhythms.
And so the questions … what does stewarding the new rhythm look like now? What is the new rhythm I need to embrace?

As I’ve prayed over those questions, I’ve made the hard decision affecting Echoes of Grace.
Yes, Echoes will continue, but possibly not every Thursday.

A new melody is controlling my rhythm. I’m wanting to bring together the many things I’ve been learning about rest. The things I’ve been pondering, speaking on, and in many cases writing about.

Like Dr. Luke in his opening words of his gospel, ” … it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account …” Luke 1:3.

I want to write a manuscript, an orderly account, on the topic of rest. This is my melody for 2020 defining my rhythm.

Echoes of Grace will continue to pop up on Thursdays, just not every Thursday. It will have a sporadic rhythm. To make sure you know when a new post is live, if you have not already done so, click the link, Follow Echoes of Grace. That way I’ll keep you in the loop and you’ll know when a new post appears.

Tom and Susan will continue to milk cows.
I’ll continue to write.
God’s purposes for us have not changed. The living out of those purposes, the rhythm, and how to steward them is changing.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated [gave you an unchanging purpose];”
Jeremiah 1:5 [brackets mine]