Growing in Maturity

Jake turned 17 in June and I didn't post anything about him! For his birthday we made our now traditional birthday poster and used it to announce his gift. Tickets to a Christian music festival in our area called, "Sonshine Festival" which he wanted to attend but couldn't afford.

(Confession:  I forgot to photograph him on his birthday so I made him pose for these a week later.  Not that you would know this otherwise but I like to share my failure as a mother by pointing out when I forget to take any birthday pictures of my child.)

We sent him and a friend off to this weekend festival with a tent, camp gear and food all packed and purchased by Jake.  He drove himself an hour out of town, set up his tent and cooked his meals for 3 days and 2 nights.  While the parents of one of his friends were there he was basically on his own.  He made a few mistakes (like forgetting the ticket at home) but we decided not to rescue him (we couldn't have if we had wanted to since we weren't home) and instead let him problem solve or suffer the consequences. (The festival looked up his tickets online and let him in.)

This week Jake is in Panama on a mission trip with our youth group who partnered with Youth With A Mission (YWAM).  They will be doing mainly children's VBS type programing but will definitely get a little adventure mixed in when they are canoed into a remote village for some ministry time and will spend one night there.

This is Jake's second over seas mission trip and 4th mission trip in general.  He is a seasoned pro.  The first trip our church youth did was 5 years ago when Jake was going into 7th grade.  They partnered with YWAM that time as well to help with clean up in New Orleans after Katrina.  Jake was the youngest on the trip which had more girls than boys.  Fast forward to today, Jake is now going into 12th grade and among the older kids on a trip of mostly boys.  This time instead of looking to everyone else for leadership they will be looking to him.

This is a hard stage for parenting.  I know I am preparing him to leave the nest in a year or so and I am starting to worry.  I see him every day.  I know his immaturity.  And sometimes I must admit I focus on that more than the maturity.  Despite letting him go off with no worries to Sonshine I was worried this time about whether or not he would know what to do and do it.

In the past I would be home to micromanage the preparations.  Make sure he packed what I thought he needed, the way I thought it should be packed.  Bring what I wanted him to have and all the while fill him with advice and wisdom I feel he will need while away.  But this time I didn't have those opportunities.  I did manage to take him out and buy bug spray, sunscreen and a second pair of shorts for the trip as well as a new suitcase but otherwise I totally had to trust him to make it happen.

When we arrived to drop him off several parents and staff commented on the plan to look to Jake for leadership on this trip.  I wanted to tell them why he was totally not mature enough and they might want to be sure and check on him regularly.  But then I thought about it.  He is ready for this responsibility.  He is mature.  He has traveled out of the country before and although this is a different country with a different culture he has the experience to take it in and do what is needed. 

So I decided to stop worrying and trust.  Trust my son, trust that he has learned the lessons we have taught him over the years and trust God, that He will be with him every step of the way.

I am looking forward to the return of my mature son and of hearing how God used him and revealed Himself during this week as He prepares Jake for his future.

The Year of Mission

I spent 8 days traveling across the country, well up and down the country, this past week to visit my Georgia sister. It was a good trip, 4 days (2 down, 2 back) in the car with mom and Isabelle went quickly and smoothly. I had fun reconnecting with my nieces, experiencing the chaos that happens in a house with 4 girls, celebrating at an orange 4 year old birthday party, helping my sister declutter her bedroom closet for the first time since they moved in, getting in a brief shopping time where I found some new shoes, and all the other fun things we did.

This trip, more so than some, really felt like a break from my regular life. Not so much in the activities we did but just in my not having to go to work, clean, do laundry, etc. I had time to just enjoy the moments and to think about my life and listen to what God was showing me at this time in my life. I was particularly struck by a sense of sharing. Because of sick kids and volunteer schedules I ended up going to church alone while I was there. It felt great to have that moment alone to worship God and there was a great sermon just for me about our mission in life. A couple profound thoughts from my notes, "When you think of God's mission for your life you don't start with you, you start with God." Hmm...interesting thought, what does God want me to do not what do I want to do. Then once we get into our actual mission here is a very simple idea, "What you have heard, share." Oh, so I don't have to know all the answers I just tell people what I know. Interesting. This also sort of goes with something Michele is learning from Beth Moore, "Are you planting the seed or eating it?" What am I doing with what God is giving me?

So as I have probably mentioned before I am trying to see my job, which I have to finance the Africa trip, as a ministry. And while I am doing no preaching at my work I am trying to live a godly life and be a positive influence to those I work with. I have had some small opportunities to simply show love and give encouragement to my co-workers and have appreciated the experience. While I have done nothing exceptional, just making the effort to step into others lives in this way has seemed like a big deal to me.

This past week as I was away from my normal responsibilities and listening to the sermon alone I felt strongly that God was placing on my heart a next step, to start a bible study in my neighborhood. Not the kind where you call all the neighbors you know are already Christians but the kind where you invite everyone you have met whether you know their faith or not to come and learn about the life of Christ for 6 weeks. YIKES! Luckily God also told me who would share with me. You know "what you have heard, share". So Molly is going to tell me what to do and say and I am going to do it and tell them. Sounds pretty simple. I already have one neighbor who has talked to me about starting a neighborhood study so I called her and we are going to work together and see what God does as we simply open ourselves up to be used by Him.

And don't you think it is interesting that God is speaking to me about my mission/ministry as I am preparing for my Africa trip. Or do you think he is always speaking to me about these things but I just have a heightened awareness because of the trip? Something else to contemplate. This is turning into more than the Year of Africa. This is becoming the Year of Mission as John and I also spent an evening talking about how we can better open our lives and home up to others in need. No conclusion to that one yet. What else will God do in our lives this year?