"As for me," God says, "this is my covenant with them: My Spirit that I've placed upon you and the words that I've given you to speak, they're not going to leave your mouths nor the mouths of your children nor the mouths of your grandchildren. You will keep repeating these words and won't ever stop." God's orders. Isaiah 59:21 (MSG)

In the bay window of our dining room is a Dutch family Bible. It belonged my paternal Great-grandparents. I also have the Bible my maternal grandfather's uncle, James Hendrickson, used in the pulpit as a Methodist pastor in Iowa and Illinois. Another treasured posession that's passed on to me is my maternal great-grandmother's Bible. Great Grandma Daisy was the matriarch of my mother's family, and her children and grandchildren tell stories of how her faith held the family together.

It's been a time of transition in the past year. One daughter is married and off on her own. The other is graduated, moved out to take a job as a nanny, and heads to college in the fall. The nest is empty, and I have to be honest that I've been grieving a bit of late. I told a friend this, and he asked if I was surprised by my grief. I guess that I am.

I've always known that my job was to raise my children to release them. It's part of the faith journey and life cycle Isaiah alludes to. It's part of the faith covenant that carries on through time like Bibles passed on to bear witness to the faith of previous generations. I'm so blessed to watch my daughters stepping out to be the next generation. It's good. It's right. It's as it should be.

There's just a little sadness in the transition.