A Liturgy for An (Almost) Empty Nest

Empty Nest
Is what they call this.
Yet, we are still here.
And so are the echoes
Of my children as children and me as their mom.

Emptied Self
Children came and I emptied myself
Of possession of my body
Sleep is for those who don’t feed babies
Of claim of my days and my dreams
I will finish that project eventually
Of a orderly life and “me” moments
Bedtime is a gracious gift

Emptied Again
Lord, there is a new empty now.
Emptied of control over my children
As if I ever had it
Emptied of clarity in my calling
What is my title now?
Emptied of the daily data of their lives
Who is this you are talking about?

Emptied Savior
Lord, you know empty.
You emptied your throne
To become a human
You emptied yourself
To become a servant
You emptied your union with the Trinity
To become sin for me.

Fullness of Christ
Lord, you used empty to bring fullness
The empty garden
To bring about redemption
The empty cross
To bring my righteousness.
The empty tomb
To bring eternal life

Fullness in Christ
Lord, you used empty to bring fullness
As a young mom I resented the empty
Now I see how you filled it
With a deeper reliance on you
In those empty spaces
For a love I could not grasp
Till I saw their faces

Lord, help me believe you will do it again
Take what you taught me as a mom
To fill the new calling I can’t yet see
Take the reliance on you that you taught me
To fill me with confidence in the new empty
Take my grief and rejoicing over what you have done
To fill me with praise over what you will do