The Magic of Connecting even when you’re far apart

En route down the canyon after Ana’s wedding our car filled up with the magic of connecting even when you’re far apart.

You see, Lucy had been at her Teen to Work summer camp for her first full day.

And she had called and FaceTimed in and out of the day. Oh she was brave I tell you. But even amidst the glory of all the wedding festivities my heart was wrapping around her from afar. Anyone who has sent a child to summer camp is well aware of these feelings…what was she doing right now? How was she feeling? Had she met any friends? Is she finding her way around ok?

It is to hard to let kids go.

Both Lucy and my hearts were filled up with some anxiousness on her journey to settling into this new big thing.

Connecting through reading even when we’re far apart

As Grace, Claire and I drove down the canyon, we FaceTimed with Lucy, seeking to pump that girl up. (Grace and Claire are the best cheerleaders!). Lucy had wanted to read Narnia together and we had been looking for a copy at my parent’s house to no avail. Thankfully that book, Prince Caspian that we are in the middle of right now, was available on Hoopla (online library).

Grace and Claire took turns reading the most beautiful part of that book to Lu as I drove in the dark of the night.

It was the part of the book where Lucy (the character from the book) can see Aslan and the rest cannot. That little tribe of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are hopelessly lost on their journey. Lucy is delighted to see Aslan beckoning to lead them to safety. But her siblings cannot see that lion. They keep choosing treacherous pathways instead of leading into the Guidance on the horizon. And then gradually, one by one, they start to be able to see Aslan.

Sacred Mothering Moments

Our whole car gradually filled up with this thick love that is difficult to describe. The story. The girl I love seeking to see her own version of Aslan to guide her in this new hard “impossible.” I could almost feel my Lucy feeling that whole story through the phone.

When we finished reading, Lucy offered to say a prayer and it was one of the most sacred moments of mothering for me. Listening to the gratitude spilling out of that girl even in the midst of some pretty scary times. Our car with my older girls swelling up with so much love.

Yes, there is so much magic to be found in connecting even when you’re far apart.

Since then, we have read every night but one before we pray together over the phone.

Each night my heart fills with gratitude for that phone that can connect us. For those C.S. Lewis words washing over us in goodness. Each night I’m grateful for the power of prayer, and specifically praying together. For both our hearts. And gratitude for that girl on the other end of the line, bravely maneuvering such a new experience.