Comforter

Jem is on a jet right now! The days with her flew just as fast as the speed of the plane. Didn’t I already know this? In fact, before her arrival, I feared the too familiar emptiness from her departure more than anticipate her homecoming.

“It’s going to end soon,” whispered the contemptuous demons in my head. I tried to cancel them, but to no avail.
One would assume that I should’ve learned how to cope with children’s departures by now from all too many experiences, like when my son went to boot camp, and when he was deployed for ship duty, or when Jem studied in Japan, or when she left to finally work there, but what heart preparation could a mother do when children leave home?

At the departure scene, I always think I’ve got a handle on the situation because I feel numb. But this was because I just pulled an all-nighter. I zombie through the airport hurdle race that starts with the baggage check-in. When the mighty TSA demand that I take off my shoes, I lose the ability to cat-walk and become mousy. At that point, I loose mental fortitude.

And as soon as my mind has rested, the unnerving moments when she yelled at me for being a “Boomy-Boom” (an endearment for a boomer), refused to go kayaking because of UV-phobia, or try a new restaurant because of weight gain suddenly become ridiculously cute. And then loneliness enshrouds me. I need to process and regroup every time a child leaves home.

So I turn to my go-to verse. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

We’re told that God is a God of comfort, and I needed to verify that “comfort” wasn’t like an old lady stroking my back, or a religious elder arrogantly dismissing my case as a part of God’s plans, or a word of rebuke from the pulpit that I just need to have faith and pray unceasingly. I don’t need the theory of Christianity and its empty vocabulary. I need true comfort for a real situation.

Looking up “comfort” in Greek, I find “paraclete” means helper, advocate and strengthener, which leads me to this verse.

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper…
John 14:16  

It’s the Holy Spirit, the comforter Himself, the Helper, Strengthener, Advocate, the Reliever of loneliness and He who calms our fears – He’s who I need right now. The Comforter is a Being who puts on my shoes of faith so I can cat-walk through life’s troubling circumstances.

As I read further, I realized that we go through troubling times so we can comfort others with the same comfort – the Holy Spirit. Thus I’m sharing my troubled heart to those who need the Comforter.

I don’t think mothers can really process long distances away from children. We can only either suffer the grief or clip the children’s wings. But with the Holy Spirit, we can watch our children fly the horizons of their vocation, relationships, and faith journey through teary eyes, but with faith.
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Have you accepted Jesus as your comforter?