God doesn’t force us to go places we don’t want to go and no matter which way we turn, we’ll find him already there if we’re looking. Bob Goff, Live In Grace, Walk In Love  

We recently got together with a portion of our family for some reconnecting. We were pretty shocked to learn that our youngest grandson now resembles a man rather than the boy we remembered (we hadn’t seen him in a while) and our only granddaughter, the thirteen-year-old who typically wants to steal the show and believes she knows just about everything, was actually willing to share the spotlight with her cousin.

Our son, and all but one of his family, were in from Texas. They spent some time with our older daughter and her family, seeing a Cardinals game, playing cards, laughing and recalling old times. Then they drove to Montauk State Park for some trout fishing and that’s where we caught up with them. Hiking to the springs, sharing dinner, and reminiscing a bit felt really good. I enjoyed watching my crew walk together, each one wandering back and forth between family members and getting re-acquainted. It was a great day.

After each of Joe’s family had caught at least one trout, they settled in for a good nights sleep before heading off to other wonderful natural attractions in the area and then to their last stop before heading home, the University of Missouri campus in Columbia. Joe graduated from Mizzou and would love to see his baby boy choose to go there as well. Quinn was impressed with the campus but insists that the school he eventually attends will have to come up with a pretty sweet baseball scholarship and he has a few more months to go before recruiters can approach him officially. He’s really good, and that’s not just Grandma’s opinion.

On the other hand, our older daughter’s son, Kannon, received a great scholarship to Mizzou for his pole vaulting skills. He’ll participate in their decathlete program and has a difficult learning curve ahead because he’s not competed in about half the events. But he’s a tough, all-around athlete so I have every confidence in his ability to succeed. The really nice caveat to both stories is that the boys are really good, dedicated students. Each is capable of extra scholarship awards for their academic credentials.

Two young men, one heading off to college and the other involved in the selection process, and parents who are anxious for their sons to begin this new phase of life but concerned about their response to the culture that will try to tempt them to be untrue to themselves. And I can tell you, this Grandma is plenty concerned for their safety in this crazy world we live in.

Parents everywhere will be saying goodbye to adult children heading off to college dorms or apartments. Life will change dramatically for both parent and child. The daily contact will be replaced by phone calls, text messages and visits on weekends and holidays. The transition can be difficult unless we keep in mind:

Our children are ours, and not ours. We guide them, we don’t control them. We cannot save them from the world and certainly not from outrageous fortune. We try to help where we can, including savoring their successes, but we can only do so much. Then we do what parents have done since time began: we pray. Mark Collins, Walking in Grace 2024

We’ve raised them to be independent beings, always in the knowledge that they were only on loan to us for a while. Imagine that, God trusted us with His own creation and now it’s time to let them fly.

Kannon heads out to Mizzou early to train for his track and field events, so I texted him a few days ago, texting being the chosen method of communication with our grandchildren, and offered him a few pearls of Grandma wisdom. They seem appropriate here as well….feel free to share them with your students:

Lord, You love us as Your children, have mercy on us as parents (and Grandparents)—imperfect vessels of Your perfect love. Mark Collins, Walking In Grace 2024