Back to School.

Summer is grinding to a close and days by the pool are done. The family vacation is stored away in the scrapbook, with pictures of smiles in the sun. Facebook posts are filled with back to school pictures, and the kids are growing up. Babies are now off to kindergarden, while pre-school buddies are now seniors in high school. First day of the rest of our lives, the new year opens wide with opportunities and anticipation.

Back to College

This week, we’ve been doing a bit of back-to-schooling of our own. Sunday, I took my daughter back to college, moving into her first apartment. My son is packing as I write and leaves tomorrow. I think how empty the house will feel when they are gone, and I am so grateful that my youngest still has a little time before leaving the nest.

The future seems big.

This week, we’ve had lots of conversations about the new school year, and there has been a little anxiety about what the future holds. For my sophomore, she is feeling the weight of making that perfect decision about college majors.

Wanting to find her purpose and passion in life listed in the course selection of the college catalog–she fights the pressure of making big decisions. I understand. I remember my own sophomore year, wondering, what am I going to do with my life?

Prayers for teens and college students

 

My son, has just come home from the summer-of-a-lifetime working at an amazing special needs camp in Washington state. Home long enough to do his laundry, fix his glasses, and pack the car, he’s feeling that uncomfortable transition of back to the responsibility of finishing his senior year.

The end in sight, questions for the future sit hard as the real world beckons. Graduate schools, finishing strong, and finding career paths, are all coming up quickly and he knows it. He knows how fast this last year is going to fly.

For me, I am excited for them as they discover their way, but I fight the temptation to worry.

Have we taught them enough? Are they be ready to be on their own? Why is one growing in faith and the other seem to be pulling away? I sense the awkward emotional energy of wanting to hang on but knowing it is time to let go.

All of a sudden the world feels too big. I fight down my mama-worries. Early this morning, I greet the day with my heart ready to pray. [tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#parentspray, #parentsofteens”]I cover them in prayer as these kids grow up and go out.[/tweetthis]

It’s hard to let go.

Part of me still wants to kiss boo boos and smooth foreheads.  I still want to help solve problems, be there to give guidance, and be part of their daily world.

But it’s time.

It’s time to let go and cheer them on from the distance. It’s time to trust them to make wise decisions and live for the right reasons. It’s time to let them learn from mistakes and grow from struggles.

[tweetthis hidden_hashtags=”#parentspray #parentingteens”]They are ready and they will fly.[/tweetthis]

So as they leave, I smile at the days to come, and I pray like crazy. For though I am not there to watch over them, I am confident in the One who goes with them.

This morning I am praying for the spiritual foundation in my young adult children. I am watering the seeds of faith we’ve planted in their lives. May God may guard and grow faith strong and real this year. May He prepare them to launch into life. I invite you to join me in praying for the children in your life.

Prayers for our children:

Psalm 1-1-3

Bless our children with  wise and godly counsel. Teach them the difference between the false wisdom of the world and the true wisdom of God. Keep them from sinful choices and lifestyles, from things that will harm them or lure them off course. Bless them with boundaries you have set and do not let them stray.

May our children choose of their own accord to live out your Word. May they value your Word. Keep your thoughts in their minds. Grow our children grow strong in faith and may they prosper and bear great fruit.

Psalm 715

As our children prepare for adulthood, may it come from the strong foundation of hope and confidence in you. Show them your faithfulness and guide their hearts to a confident faith.

Psalm 119:9Motivate our children to keep their hearts pure. May they seek you with a personal desire to live life with you. Make real to them what they have been taught, and don’t let them wander  away in this wild world.

Psalm 65:5

Thank you now for the work you are doing in these young hearts. Work in our children in an amazing way. Make your hand on their lives visible to them and to others.

May they know that you are always present, and may they believe you will do wonderful things with their lives. Strengthen and breathe life into the faith we have taught them, and may they grow strong in character and faith as you prepare them for the future.

Psalm 27:11

Continue to teach our children as they go forward into the world. Guide their decisions and lead them on a level path, with the stability of faith that is their own.

Ephesians 3:20

Thank you that you can to more that we could ever ask in the lives of our children. Work within, guiding and working with power and grace.

Add to this post by sharing a verse and prayer for our children in the comments below. [tweetthis]Let’s join together in the power of praying strong faith in to the lives of our children.[/tweetthis]

I’m linking with Three Word Wednesday, Tell His Story, Coffee for Your Heart, and Whatever is Lovely.

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