a big push

Photo by Alex Hockett, Unsplash

After Mary gave birth to Jesus, she stayed in for 40 days to bond with the baby, heal, and absorb the change. Then, on the 40th day, she and Joseph offered two turtledoves in thanksgiving to God and presented themselves and their new child before their faith community. Today is the Feast of the Presentation, when we commemorate that moment.

Whether or not you have given birth, life is filled with acute moments that require a big push, and possibly signal a change in your life:

running a marathon

end of semester exams

opening a new restaurant

looming project deadlines at work

eight weeks of radiation treatment

I present to you a big push in my life, and I now stand on the other side of it absorbing its change:

Over the last month we moved my parents from their lovely home in the mountains of Arizona to our newly renovated basement, henceforth to be called “the cottage level.”

Renovating, packing, returning cable boxes, hiring movers, discarding, donating, logistics, writing checks - while there was physical labor involved in this big push, it was the emotional labor that exhausted me.

Conversations about the dangers of throw rugs, learning the best way to maintain autonomy and privacy, determining how to handle finances, and saying “good-bye” to beloved friends, beloved belongings, beloved places. Exhausting labor indeed.

On Sunday, as my daughter cut into her 15th birthday cake (presented on Nana’s freshly unpacked milk glass cake plate), I looked at Piper’s gorgeous 15 year old face, and remembered the big push that brought her into this world.

32 years ago, I was 15. I did not yet know how many big pushes life would require of me. She has much ahead of her, and she has the strength and grace to push through it all.

Piper handed a piece of her birthday cake to her grandmother, my mother, now 79 and tired from a day of unpacking. She is beautiful to me, my mother.

32 years from now, I’ll be 79. I sit between these two beautiful women aware of big push moments strung together like pearls connecting us to generations ahead and behind.

The big push to move my parents is complete. They are here. Their stuff is in place. Blessedly, we flew cross country from a COVID-19 hotspot without bringing it home with us. Now we rest, and bond. We absorb the change, and we give thanks to God.

This is big, and this is right.

Perhaps you are facing a big push in your life. Even if it is clear and right, it is exhausting. Grab some time to reflect, regroup, recover. Mary had 40 days before going out into public to absorb the reality of motherhood, to heal and grow strong again, to bond with her baby. Can you squeeze in a 40 minute run to do some of that? A 40 hour retreat or break? 40 miles of walking stretched out over the next few weeks and months?

Or maybe this moment for you is about arriving on the other side of the big push and giving thanks. Offer some gift to God in thanksgiving for the goodness of surviving this big push, and for the blessings it has delivered to your doorstep. How about giving blood? Or a contribution to your local food pantry? Maybe a random act of kindness for a neighbor? Whatever symbolizes the joy and praise within you - give that.

A big push is a great occasion for a rest, some bonding, and expressing deep gratitude.