Ready to Launch

In less than a month, Warren heads up to Samford University, in Birmingham, Alabama.  From the minute we stepped on the campus, all four of us knew it was the place he needed to be!  That is.....until he went to Orientation, in June!  

He spent the night in the dorm and around 10:30pm, I got a text that said "Not gonna lie.  I'm having some withdrawals right now."  Well, I'm not gonna lie....my momma heart was soooo conflicted!  My first reaction was "ohmygosh!  This is so great, he can go to Florida Southern and be close to home!"  But then I remembered the excitement he had every time we visited the campus and the hours and hours we have all spent in prayer over the decision.....and I recognized that giving up Samford would be taking the easy road.  And while sometimes that's not a bad thing....Isaiah 43:18-19 says, "But forget all that - it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.  For I am about to do something new.  See, I have already begun!  Do you not see it?  I will make a pathway through the wilderness.  I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."  

After talking with his Orientation leader and admissions counselor, we felt certain his fears were stemming from the unknown.  And who can blame him?

Fast forward to July.  He has served on Work Crew at Windy Gap camp, in North Carolina.  At the beginning of the month, we sent him off on his first flight without us.  And he has been living his best life in North Carolina since.  Work Crew turn in their phones when they arrive and are only allowed to get them back for 2 hours each Saturday.  But who needs phones when you're in the mountains?  We're able to Facetime him on Saturdays and every time, he's told us he's had the very best time and easily wants to go back next year!  Last night, he got a 5-minute phone call from the Game Room.  He told us he's made some good, new friends and one of them has a cabin in Brevard, NC and invited him to hang out there until his flight, later Sunday night.  You can imagine how happy my momma heart was.  So excited he'd made some friends!  (Dad, on the other hand, was more interested in the logistics.  How will you get back to the airport?  If the friend's parents take you, do they know that the airport is about 45 minutes from Brevard?)  

When we hung up, I couldn't help but think back to Isaiah 43:18-19.  What he experienced in Windy Gap doesn't compare to what God's got planned for him at Samford.  And I can't help but think how beautifully orchestrated this summer was for Warren.  God knew that Warren would have doubts going to Samford.  So he prepared the way by sending him to Windy Gap, where he had a chance to learn how to "find his people".  And he learned that if he can find his people at Windy Gap, he can surely find his people at Samford.  

In preparation for this new season, I'm reading Release My Grip, by Kami Gilmour and have "realized the secret to surviving my kids leaving the next is to be fully present to support them and look forward to the future through the lens of their life, not backward through the lens of my life."  Ecclesiastes 7:10 says "Don't long for the good old days.' This is not wise."  So while I could sit in tears about "the good old days", I choose to be wise and look towards what's to come, with excitement, because I know God's about to do something new!  

During the worship service at Orientation, one of the key points the campus minister shared with us was "We aren't letting them go; we're launching them! (Proverbs 22:6)"  I think it's safe to say we are ready to launch!

It Matters to That One

During one of his sermons, Pastor Andy recently shared the story of the starfish.  It quickly reminded me of Young Life.  Young Life understands that "it matters to that one" and they show up every.single.time.  Whether it's showing up for a summer reunion party, only to find out none of the other kids were able to come....or meeting Harper for Campaigners, when no other kids come.  These leaders show up!  They show up and they understand that it matters to that one!  

Last night was no different.  Last night, these leaders showed up at our house at 3am (with our prior permission, of course) to celebrate Warren!  They pulled in, put on their silly character costumes in our driveway and busted in Warren's room with music blaring to "wake Warren up with Young Life!"  They were here for maybe 3 minutes at 3am in the morning...when they easily could've been sleeping.  But they were here for Warren....Because it matters!     

Warren joined Young Life in middle school and since then, both boys have been, not just involved.....but excited to be involved.  If you are around our family for any length of time, you know just how much it means to us.  Quite literally, it very well could've saved Warren's life.  It came into his life at a time when he was at his lowest, with some very dark thoughts.  Our church was in the midst of some youth leadership turnover, so he didn't feel like he had a home there.  But God....

God orchestrated such a beautiful play, with Young Life in the lead role!  Just as Warren needed a place to belong and be known.....this group called Wyld Life (the middle school version of Young Life) started meeting at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy.  Why not, we thought?  So Warren started going.  And 7 years later, we had no idea how much Young Life would come to mean to our boys.

Earlier this year, Warren had the privilege of sharing his YL story.  7 years ago, I would've been a nervous wreck at such a thought.  Instead, I watched as he confidently shared how Young Life changed his life.  

I can also say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that throughout this beautiful play...God also cast Harrison as another lead role.  At Harrison, Warren has learned confidence.  He's learned stage presence.  And he's learned how to speak in front of an audience.  What a powerful combination, especially when it's used to share your testimony!  I couldn't be prouder of him and I couldn't be more grateful for the people and the experiences God has placed in our lives through Young Life.  Because they show up!  They know that it matters to that one!    

Now as Warren prepares to confidently head to Samford University, he's excited to get involved in the Young Life chapter in Birmingham....this time, as a leader!  Because he knows how much it matters.  And he's ready to show up!  

The End of Something

Mr. Rogers said, "Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else."  And here we are.  At this bittersweet "end of something".....looking forward to the "beginning of something else."   

Obviously, I knew this day would come.  I just didn't know it would bring all the feels.    

It's actually been creeping up, since last week.  Last Friday, we donated all of Harper's uniforms in exchange for Choice Dress passes.  I wasn't even sure how to feel.  The boys have been in uniforms for the last 12 years.  Other than preschool, we've never not had a kid in a uniform.  So, turning them all in felt surreal.  I kind of caught a glimpse of what life will be like when they are adults...they get Choice Dress for the rest of their lives.  No more uniforms!  It felt like that was the beginning of this end.  

Then, it hit me again last night.  Warren went to play pickleball with some friends, like he's been doing most nights, lately.  However, this time was different.  This time, he didn't eat dinner with us.  He ate dinner with his friends.  And he wasn't home early.  He stayed out later.  And when he finally came home, he took a shower, came and told us goodnight and went to bed.  That might not sound like a big deal, but in our house it is.  For the last 17 years, he's always wanted me to tell him goodnight once he was in bed.  But last night, that changed.  

Then, I watched him walk to his car this morning, like I do every morning.  But this time, it was the last time as a junior....and the last time by himself.  Next year, he'll have Harper with him.  Just another beginning of this end. 

After he drove off, Harper and I finished getting ready and headed for our last morning carline.  When Warren started high school and I started taking Harper to school, I would be lying if I said I didn't resent it a little bit.  It meant I was late to work every day.  But now, three years later, after he got out of the car and I started to drive off, my eyes welled up with tears!  I started bawling.  The same time I once resented had turned into time I cherished!  I will miss our entertainment news on Johnny's House.  We listen to it every morning at 7am and talk about how silly some of it is.  I'll miss our Duo Lingo battles.  Every morning, once we get to LCMA, we complete our lesson for the day, while we wait for the gate to open.  I'll miss making up stories about the creepy house that seems to be abandoned.  There is a run down house that sits by the school and most days it seems abandoned, until it's not.  And on those days, we make up creepy stories about what we see inside.  But most of all, I'll just miss that precious time with my mini-me!

But these bittersweet ends don't stop with my biological boys.  They carry over to my school boy, Jayshaun.  I first met Jayshaun 3 years ago as a 6th grader.  Walking down the hallway, I was called in to a classroom to help because his anger had gotten the best of him.  And at that moment, I became his Momma Mayes.  Jayshaun quickly became like one of my own...and everyone at school knew it.  He came to see me first thing every morning and just before he left every afternoon (and most days, many, many times in between).  I've been to cheer him on at his basketball and football games.  I've been to his band and guitar concerts.  He's even come to youth group several times with us!  He really has become like my own and, although I know we will stay in touch, I also know it will look much different.  As I told him goodbye today, through my ugly cry and with tears in his eyes, he hugged me and told me he would come back to see me.     

So although we are at the end of this chapter (and I may or may not have the ugly cry going on as I type), as soon as I hit "Publish", I will choose to dry up and look forward to the "beginning of something else" as I know all 3 of these boys have such great things ahead.  Warren will be a senior so we have a lot to look forward to in his college selection.  Harper will be a freshman at Harrison, starting in the MPA program.  We can't wait to see what high school looks like for him, as he starts to find his way.  And Jayshaun will be a freshman at Kathleen (I think....depends on the day, for him) and you can believe I will be cheering him on at his games!

Like Dr. Seuss (supposedly) said, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."