The Irish Blessing

Suggested listening: https://youtu.be/_DzPTHXfFMc?si=agjS0z2DF8kT4M7z

“May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

“Only one life. ‘Twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
~“Only One Life,” C.T. Studd~

This lovely song was the blessing I offered over my son as I watched him drive toward his destination half-way across the country, embarking on a new phase in his life. I again said it over my daughter upon her graduation from high school. It is my heart’s cry over each of my children as they navigate the various phases of their lives.

As I have trusted Him to open and close doors in my life, so that I am positioned and standing at attention when opportunity presents itself, so too I must entrust my children to His providence and kindness, believing He will also position their hearts to incline toward Him.

“Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done,
The things you have planned for us.
None can compare with you;
Were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
They would be too many to declare.”
~Psalm 40:5~

I believe He has led me thus far; He will be faithful to complete in me and through me what He has started, as Philippians 1:6 affirms: “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” We “work out” our salvation in the context of the giftings He’s given us, wielding those gifts like a sword in the sphere in which we live. I crave the platform to wield His testimony like a mighty sword, piercing the atmosphere with the testimony of His goodness and works in my life! The dreams He has planted in me have required a certain amount of ambition to begin and inertia to maintain. I have had to take initiative in learning how to do things, but He has helped me along by providing friends to help along the way. These friends have shown up at the right time, with the right advice and happy heart, willing to share their area of expertise in my ventures. All I had to do was be willing to risk stepping forth when I didn’t know how to do the thing. I had to take the step of faith and see how others step out from the shadow along my path at just the right time.

My expression of life will look different than another person. The expressions of faith in my children will look different than did mine. The goal is to not hide my light under a bushel, but to use, practice, and hone my gifts in the sphere of influence He’s given me. And this I also pray for my children as they carry out their unique giftings.

“I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips, Lord…
I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness…”
~Psalm 40:10~

I am encouraged by the promise of Psalm 138:8. Tara-Leigh Cobble encouraged practice of meditating on it by putting the emphasis on different words in the verse:

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.
The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.
The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.
The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.
The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.
The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.
The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.

Likewise, as I believe He has led me, so will He lead my brood even past their full-fledged stage. He will be with us as we navigate our path and fledge into each new season.

“Go out and train everyone you meet … in this way of life …
Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you.
I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day,
right up to the end of the age.”
~Matthew 28:20 MSG~