Finding Purpose in the "Empty Nest" Season

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When Linda Campanella's youngest child moved out of the

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house, she found herself standing in the kitchen one

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evening in a silence she hadn't experienced in years. her home

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had been filled with the usual chaos of family life, school

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schedules, sports practices, laundry piles, and the constant

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comings and goings of children and friends. But now, the house

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was quiet. The routine that had once structured her days were

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suddenly gone. No carpools to organize, no late-night homework

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questions, no curfews to enforce.

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role that had defined much of her adult life had suddenly

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changed. And that quiet moment forced her to ask difficult

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questions many parents eventually face. If I'm not

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needed in the same way anymore, what comes next?

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Welcome to Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. I'm Bart Leger, and

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today we're talking about finding your footing when a

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major life role comes to an end. The theme today is something so

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many parents face, but rarely know how to navigate, and that

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is the empty nest. For a couple of decades, your life revolves

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around a chaotic schedule of school runs and sports and

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laundry, curfews, and all kind of crazy stuff you didn't

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realize you had signed up for when you began having kids.

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a struggle for many. You wonder, who am I? Do I still have a

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purpose? You might feel done, but God's calling on your life

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doesn't expire when the kids move out. This transition

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doesn't mean your purpose in life is over. Who knows? It

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might just be the beginning of an exciting new season. 3.1. For

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everything, there is a season, a time for every activity under

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heaven. When you're deep in the trenches of parenting, you often

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daydream of having a little bit of free time, don't you? But

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when the day actually arrives, when the last box is packed and

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the car pulls out of the driveway, that newfound freedom

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can suddenly feel like a loss. You wander past empty bedrooms.

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The laundry is done in a single load. Now, for that, you're

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probably not sad, but it's still a change. It's another reminder.

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For 20 years or more, your daily rhythm was dictated by the needs

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of your children. You knew exactly what your purpose was

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every single morning when your feet hit the floor. And when

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that suddenly changes, it's normal to go through a period of

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grieving. A beautiful, loud, chaotic season of your life is

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officially closed. But Ecclesiastes reminds us that God

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is the author of seasons. Seasons are the natural

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God-ordained rhythm of a life lived under heaven. You may have

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been in a constant state of near exhaustion, but your life still

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had purpose. Now that your nest is empty, how do you fill your

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time? I know that probably won't be a problem, but there will

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still be days when your life feels a little empty. It's only

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natural for someone whose life revolved around their children.

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I want you to know that God didn't design you only to raise

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children. Parenting was a holy assignment for a specific season.

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But God has never been limited to just one assignment per

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lifetime. You still have gifts. You still have wisdom. And you

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still have a calling from God. In fact, you now have the time

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and capacity to serve God in other ways you simply couldn't

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do when you were driving back and forth to soccer practices.

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As Linda reflected on that season, she realized the quiet

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house didn't have to mean the end of her story. It could be

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something else. It could be the beginning of a new chapter. The

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extra time and space allowed her to do things she had never had

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the energy or time for before. She reconnected with old

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friendships. She took up hobbies she had set aside for years. She

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found she had new energy for all kinds of things that could

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benefit from her gifts and abilities. What first felt like

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a loss slowly became something different. Even though her daily

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parenting role changed, she found a new purpose. Maybe

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you're standing in a quiet kitchen today, wondering what

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comes next. Let me encourage you. Don't rush to fill the silence

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with busyness just to avoid the transition. Let God speak into

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this new space. Here's today's challenge. If you're entering or

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currently living in the empty nest season, take a few minutes

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today to ask God to reveal your next assignment. Write down one

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gift or passion you had to put on the back burner while raising

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your kids. And then ask the Lord, How can I use this to honor you

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in this new season? Lord, life's transitions can be tough. We

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thank you for the beautiful, chaotic seasons of raising

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children, but we confess that the quiet house can feel lonely

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and disorienting. Help those who are walking into the empty nest

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season to grieve what's changing, but also to embrace what is

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beginning. Show them that their calling hasn't expired. Breathe

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fresh purpose into their days and give them the courage to

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step into this new season with joy.

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you just need someone to pray with you as you navigate this

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transition, I would love to do that. Just leave me a voicemail

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at dailydevotionsforbusylives.com

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slash voicemail and I'll pray for you by name. Thanks for

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joining me on Daily Devotions for Busy Lives. Remember, God's

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calling doesn't expire when the kids move out. It's just the

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beginning of a new season. Come back next time for more

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encouragement to help you live grounded in God's truth. Until

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then, God bless and have a great day.