I've got a few ....well a LOT....of requests for ya today. For you see? I'm not strong. I'm weak. I'm overwhelmed. I'm S-appy....which I'm convinced is a word for Happy and Sad at the same time. I'm scared. I'm excited. I'm worried. I'm a complete mess. In short....I just flat need ya big time.
My Sammy is moving 50 whole miles from my front door :). His friends are, too. Some much further....MUCH, much further. Some are lying their heads at home, but will not be heading to BHS on Monday. Their lives are moving forward. While, MUCH of my requests are about THEM....I'm going to be a tad selfish and ask for some prayers for me. And my friends. The mommas. Well, the dads, too....but really the mommas.
For you see? Our hearts are so all over the place. Be with us as we learn our new place as parents. My heart is welled with joy and thanksgiving, anticipation and anxiety, amidst a longing to be together as we have been till now. His years of growing up have moved so quickly, so many things left undone, so much left unsaid, so much I still hope to give to my child who is taking this new step in the journey of life.
Help us as we reshape our lives to reflect this new reality of college. Show us new ways to be present to each other in love and in trust. Give me patience and help me to remember that my child is establishing new routines in freedom, routines different from my routines.
Help me to let him go.
Help me to guide him. And teach him that College is a Privilege. Sure, I expected him to go. But this in no way takes away from the fact that spending four years learning, growing and focused almost exclusively on himself is a gift like none other. Before he sets foot on campus, I wish him think through the millions in human history and try to guess how many people were given this opportunity. Even fewer play sports at the college level. MAKE him see and acknowledge just how rare and special this gift is.
Guide me to help him realize that this is the Best Four Years of His Life. Lord, I pray that he takes the initiative to soak in deeply of all that this Christian University has to offer. That he loads his plate with its academic, athletic, cultural and social offerings. Never again will life mix youth, freedom, opportunity and resources together in quite this combination. If these are to be the very best years, he must make them so.
Father, help him to realize that the First Weeks of College are a Time like None Other.
Everyone will want to meet everyone and there will be none of the social awkwardness that usually accompanies rushing up and speaking to total strangers. He must not squander this short window of opportunity, for it may will never come around again.
Precious God, Don't Let Him Be Stupid! :) He will now be in a place where the judgement is both allowed and encouraged. The only thing that stands between him and a very bad experience is his own good judgment. But here is the tricky part. So is everyone around him. On the flip side, Lord....Help me to allow him to bump his knee, or to miss a deadline. Help me to step aside....so he can learn life's lessons.
Lord, Give Him those "Forever Friends." He sat in the same classes or did the same activities as his high school friends and teammates. In college, maintaining friendships is a bit more work. After college it is a lot more work. Investing in friendships now pays dividends forever, truly forever.
God...Help him to see how How His Home is Now Different. It is Sam's blessing to never have lived in a place where no one loved him. At the outset, college is that place. Despite everyone’s outward cheer in the first weeks of college, he will have no real friends....yet. Sure he will know some kids, but these are not true friends, yet. They are still just acquaintances he really likes, but barely knows. Lord, I beg for your hand on his new friendships and relationships.
Help him to see that I Was Once 18. When he looks at me, he sees “Mom” and “Old.” Do not let him be fooled. Not one fiber of my being has forgotten how it feels to be his age. Let him know that if he has a problem, talk to me. Few things he will say will shock me and there is every chance, though admittedly just a chance, that I might have a good suggestion. And while the law may recognize him as an adult, Lord, let him realize how much he has left to learn.
My Sammy is moving 50 whole miles from my front door :). His friends are, too. Some much further....MUCH, much further. Some are lying their heads at home, but will not be heading to BHS on Monday. Their lives are moving forward. While, MUCH of my requests are about THEM....I'm going to be a tad selfish and ask for some prayers for me. And my friends. The mommas. Well, the dads, too....but really the mommas.
For you see? Our hearts are so all over the place. Be with us as we learn our new place as parents. My heart is welled with joy and thanksgiving, anticipation and anxiety, amidst a longing to be together as we have been till now. His years of growing up have moved so quickly, so many things left undone, so much left unsaid, so much I still hope to give to my child who is taking this new step in the journey of life.
Help us as we reshape our lives to reflect this new reality of college. Show us new ways to be present to each other in love and in trust. Give me patience and help me to remember that my child is establishing new routines in freedom, routines different from my routines.
Help me to let him go.
Help me to guide him. And teach him that College is a Privilege. Sure, I expected him to go. But this in no way takes away from the fact that spending four years learning, growing and focused almost exclusively on himself is a gift like none other. Before he sets foot on campus, I wish him think through the millions in human history and try to guess how many people were given this opportunity. Even fewer play sports at the college level. MAKE him see and acknowledge just how rare and special this gift is.
Guide me to help him realize that this is the Best Four Years of His Life. Lord, I pray that he takes the initiative to soak in deeply of all that this Christian University has to offer. That he loads his plate with its academic, athletic, cultural and social offerings. Never again will life mix youth, freedom, opportunity and resources together in quite this combination. If these are to be the very best years, he must make them so.
Father, help him to realize that the First Weeks of College are a Time like None Other.
Everyone will want to meet everyone and there will be none of the social awkwardness that usually accompanies rushing up and speaking to total strangers. He must not squander this short window of opportunity, for it may will never come around again.
Precious God, Don't Let Him Be Stupid! :) He will now be in a place where the judgement is both allowed and encouraged. The only thing that stands between him and a very bad experience is his own good judgment. But here is the tricky part. So is everyone around him. On the flip side, Lord....Help me to allow him to bump his knee, or to miss a deadline. Help me to step aside....so he can learn life's lessons.
Lord, Give Him those "Forever Friends." He sat in the same classes or did the same activities as his high school friends and teammates. In college, maintaining friendships is a bit more work. After college it is a lot more work. Investing in friendships now pays dividends forever, truly forever.
God...Help him to see how How His Home is Now Different. It is Sam's blessing to never have lived in a place where no one loved him. At the outset, college is that place. Despite everyone’s outward cheer in the first weeks of college, he will have no real friends....yet. Sure he will know some kids, but these are not true friends, yet. They are still just acquaintances he really likes, but barely knows. Lord, I beg for your hand on his new friendships and relationships.
Help him to see that I Was Once 18. When he looks at me, he sees “Mom” and “Old.” Do not let him be fooled. Not one fiber of my being has forgotten how it feels to be his age. Let him know that if he has a problem, talk to me. Few things he will say will shock me and there is every chance, though admittedly just a chance, that I might have a good suggestion. And while the law may recognize him as an adult, Lord, let him realize how much he has left to learn.
Lord...again, I ask. Help me to let him grow. And leave. And learn. Teach him that I may not necessarily have all the answers, but that he is not alone.
I have loved him every moment of his life. Even as he prepare to move out, I shock myself by Loving Him even More! This love comes without strings, but life does not. If there are things he wants to achieve, knowledge he wants to gain, and friends he wants to make... it is now entirely up to him. Guide him in these moments...that will forever change him.
Calm my fears. Strengthen and protect my child in the midst of the challenges and temptations which surround all students. Grant greater courage that I myself may have had in standing for your truth against compromises of faith.
Provide good friends and worthy confidants for my child during these college years. Help me to give support and confidence, to discern how I am needed now, and to pass on, in my love, a measure of the strength and courage you have given me in the gift of parenting.
Nudge him on Sunday mornings and make chapel more than a requirement. Help him to seek YOU. When someone looks at Sam...be it now, or in a week, or in a year. Let them see You.
I have loved him every moment of his life. Even as he prepare to move out, I shock myself by Loving Him even More! This love comes without strings, but life does not. If there are things he wants to achieve, knowledge he wants to gain, and friends he wants to make... it is now entirely up to him. Guide him in these moments...that will forever change him.
Calm my fears. Strengthen and protect my child in the midst of the challenges and temptations which surround all students. Grant greater courage that I myself may have had in standing for your truth against compromises of faith.
Provide good friends and worthy confidants for my child during these college years. Help me to give support and confidence, to discern how I am needed now, and to pass on, in my love, a measure of the strength and courage you have given me in the gift of parenting.
Nudge him on Sunday mornings and make chapel more than a requirement. Help him to seek YOU. When someone looks at Sam...be it now, or in a week, or in a year. Let them see You.
Lord, I also ask that you be with my Sydney. Her brother is her buddy. Her friend. Also, let her know that she is not merely a "back up dancer" in the "Sam Show." In my eyes, she is a "Co-star!" With all the preparation of getting her brother ready...there have been no back-to-school shopping, or hair appointments, or much of anything for just "her." Help her to know that has little to do with her worth....and more to do with her momma's budget! :)
Place favor on her, Lord. As she walks the halls of BHS without the chance of bumping into her brother. As she begins her Junior year, Lord, allow her to continue to practice kindness with her friends, and to nurture her important relationships. Let us turn the emptiness in the bedroom across the hallway, and the ride to school, and empty chair at the dinner table....to a newfound joy in our family.
And Lord, I ask that you keep my babies safe. You have entrusted me with their care. I now hand them over to you.....for I know you are already there.
PS....Say hi to my momma.....and scoot over to give her a front row seat! I know that lady is super proud of these two! :)
In your Son's precious name,
Amen
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