My Son, Like Drake Gaines, Left For College
I, too, had my share of mixed feelings as my husband and I moved our first son into his dorm this month. Taking him to college seemed similar to when we took him to kindergarten. (Wasn’t that just a couple of years ago?) Thankfully, his school of choice is just over an hour away. But the changes have already set in. He no longer bursts in the door each day exclaiming, “What’s poppin’, party people?!?” I no longer remind him to take out the recycling. His chair sits empty at the dinner table.
But we FaceTime, and for that I’m thankful. In fact, we were FaceTiming the night before classes began when he shared, “You know, I think I need to change my major.” Being the thoughtful mom that I am, I offered the idea of attending his first day of classes before he decided.
Like Gaines, I don’t find the harvest process an easy one. Savoring what I’ve sown doesn’t come naturally. It takes intentionality. For me, it looks like choosing a positive perspective as I look for ways to be grateful—for an unexpected call from my son, the fact that he’s joined a study hall on his own, or that he sought God about changing his major. (In case you’re wondering, yes, he did in fact change his major the first week of classes.)
And for all of the other areas of our lives (and my son’s life) that have yet to show fruit, I take those to God in prayer.
Gaines concluded, “This year, I’m waiting on fall the same way I always do. I’ll watch the sky. I’ll listen for rain. I’ll pause at the trees with turning leaves. But I’ll do it all a little more patiently. A little more gratefully, remembering that strength isn’t earned in endings or beginnings but in the space I’m forging along the way.”
If you’re like Joanna and me and sending a kiddo (yes, I still call them kiddos) off to college, you might want ideas to encourage your college student.
