Letting go...

On June 29th my friend Patti and I drove our son's to Albright College for 2 days of rehearsals before their trip to Europe.

Maybe I should back up and give a little background. In October of 2007 Andrew's band director selected several students to participate in the American Music Abroad Honors band. This was an opportunity of a life time. Not only had he been selected for the band but he would be able to explore a whole other world.

Andrew and his best friend Matt decided to take this opportunity to spend 18 days touring France, Germany, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg. They would perform 8 concerts including one on July 4th at Omaha Beach - how cool is that!

They saw the Eiffel Tower, the Palace of Versailles, and Dachau. They took a gondola ride to a glacier in Rattenberg, had a dance party in Westendorf, and had a day at Europark in Strasbourg. They took guided tours at each new city and had time to explore on their own.

I am not sure what kind of em0tions my son went through but I certainly went through many. I was excited, nervous, scared and proud.

The thing that took me totally by surprise was how much I was affected by his leaving. I knew it would be hard to send him off, but I wasn't ready for over a week of tears every time someone asked me about him. My heart ached and in some way felt empty. Someone asked me if this was so hard what is going to happen when he goes off to college. I am not sure but maybe I should by stock in Kimberly Clarke.

I started thinking about how God feels when he watches his children leave his arms. Does he cry, does his heart ache and feel empty? Does he run after or wait patiently for us to return? The parable of the lost son best answers that - even though the son left, the father welcomed him with open arms. God's love is patient, and He is waiting for us with open arms.

Busy summer!

Where does time go? I can't believe I haven't blogged for 2 months. Shame on me. Time to change that!

What a summer so far! It all started with a party to help to two awesome friends celebrate their marriage. Sun, sand, fun, food - ok not sand but lots of sun, food and fun.

Two days later I set off with 37 high school students and 9 other adults for a week at Milligan College for MOVE - Christ in Youth's summer conference. It was an amazing trip. Five days full of worship, discipleship, quiet time for prayer and fun.

Less than 24 hours after we arrived home I finished packing for Andrew's American Music Abroad trip to Europe and took him to Albright College for rehearsals before leaving. They left on July 2nd and arrive home this Friday! I miss him!

While Andrew was having fun in Europe I was helping to prepare for Christ's Church of the Valley's annual middle school conference - STRETCH. This year's theme was Full Circle. We had 600 plus students over the three day conference. When I have the DVD I will post it.

That brings me to today. A day off to try and catch up before I begin helping with Kids' Camp Big Top. I know it's going to be BIG!

Look for future posts about each event - complete with pictures and great stories.