19. A Prayer for Our Children
R
We constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his
calling, and that by his power he may fulfill... every act prompted by
your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be
glorified in you, and you in him.
2 Thessalonians 1:11–12I
REMEMBERso well the weekend we drove our son Curt to Sewanee,
Tennessee, to begin his freshman year at the University of the
South. We deposited a jumble of clothes, track shoes, and books in
his first dorm room and said our good-byes, which seemed all too
brief.
Though I knew Curt was where he had worked very hard to be
and I was proud of him, I also felt like my heart was breaking. All
the way home in the car I played Wayne Watson’s song “Watercolor
Ponies,” about how the sweet moments of childhood must come to
an end. I was grieving the end of an era.
The morning after that long, sad trip I called my mom, who is
often my best therapist. She could tell I was at rock bottom. “What
is it?” she asked.
“Oh, Mom,” I sobbed, “it’s over.”