Back to The Real World

It’s Labor Day in America. In my mind it’s the last day before school begins, but here where we live, kids started almost three weeks ago already. In the last three weeks, we’ve started school, take our oldest to college, unpacked his boxes into his dorm room, prayed for him and left him to fend for himself. It’s definitely surreal to realize that no longer have to figure out what classes he has to take, to look over his work and give him grades. After homeschooling him from kindergarten, it’s no longer my responsibility. That is crazy.

My oldest daughter is now a senior and she only needs a few classes to graduate, so she has planned her own schedule is in charge of getting her work done and is working.

When did time fly by so fast? When did my oldest babies become adults or almost adults? It is really true when people say “the days are long but the years are short.” WAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! But under those tears is also an excitement to see where the Lord is going to take them.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,  from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,  that according to the riches of his glory he may grant [them] to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in [their] inner being, so that Christ may dwell in [their] hearts through faith—that [they], being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that [they] may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19 ESV {my pronoun changes})

My younger two kids are in the midst of their school as well. My younger daughter has decided to join the YMCA swim team and I’m so excited for her athletic gifts to be strengthened. And our youngest son is doing well. I cannot believe how different this year is than last.

And so we move to the new routine. We haven’t done all the new activities long enough to figure out the routine yet, but it will come. I’m not looking forward to being busy, but with 3 kids, I know that this is the time in life when it is just busy.

So I ask, as you see us moms of teenagers in the store and around the neighborhood, say a prayer, that the hours spent in our cars would be fruitful. That the lessons we teach even behind the wheel of a car would be taken down deep into the hearts of our children. We’re trying so hard to do well by them. And now I know that once they’re at college, we can only pray that those lessons will have reached into the marrow of their souls.

I am thankful for these teenage years. They are so hard emotionally, but there are so many good days too.

Now, on to the next thing on my to do list…