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Hey friends!
I wanted to pop in with a quick personal update. (Since we do life together.) 🌸
My son Hunter is graduating from high school tomorrow and I can’t begin to tell you how many thoughts and emotions I’ve got swirling in my mama heart. Tangles and tangles of them… joy, excitement, pride and happiness all interwoven and smashed inseparable from sorrow, nostalgia, fear and even a looming sense of loss.
A part of me wants him to go back to being a little boy. Back to those sweet days when he’d ask me to help him tie his shoes, mend a boo boo, or sing songs and cuddle at bedtime. Back to those days when hugs were kid-currency, books were everything, and kisses were joyful, whimsical expressions of love.
And I’d like a do-over on those younger years. An opportunity to linger, listen and love deeper, wider and higher. An opportunity to bark less and wag more, snuggle longer and laugh louder with generous doses of grace.
You know what I mean?
Graduation is a ceremonious time that places one foot of my heart in the past and one foot in the future. I feel torn.
Yet I want to be present in the midst of all of it. So I pray… and praise God for all that He has done and all that He will do. I give thanks and celebrate the ways that God’s fingerprints are visible in Hunter’s life.
And I pray for his tomorrows.
In a very mama-kind-of way…
You see, I want him to go out into the world, scale high mountains, and do great things… but in a safe and comfortable bubble… knowing all too well that God teaches many of our richest life lessons in the crucible of disappointment, hurt and error.
Agh! Please pray for me as I pray for him!
And please join me in prayer for every graduate this year to embrace the words that Christopher Robin said to Winnie the Pooh, “You are BRAVER than you believe, STRONGER than you seem, and SMARTER than you think.” And to take the charge found in Deuteronomy 31:8 to heart, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Amen?
BIG HUGS and BLESSINGS to you,
GWEN
🌸 FAVORITES RIGHT NOW 🌸
It’s graduation season and here’s a glimpse what I’m loving…
Online Invitations: I was asked to review an online invitation service called Paperless Post and I have to tell you, I’m impressed! Paperless Post is a company that designs customizable online stationary in a way that is personal, practical and comprehensive. I’m not a big card sender, so this totally appealed to me when it came to organizing a graduation party for Hunter. My favorite part? It’s simple, the templates are amazing and the dashboard is helping me stay organized with my guest list. Loving Paperless Post. Will totally use them again.
Everybody Always: This new book by the one-and-only Bob Goff is my go-to graduation gift this year. I’ve ordered several copies. Our family loved reading Bob’s first book together, Love Does, and from what I’ve already read of Everybody Always, there are gobs of great heart directives in each chapter. Love me some Bob Goff. And love his heart for loving others. So good.
Jewelry With a Message: And these. I love to give these bracelets by DESIGNING for HOPE as gifts to young women to be worn as a reminder to PRESS ON and prioritize FAITH in Christ above all else. They’re simple and casual. I wear mine all the time.
Comments 11
How beautiful! I will certainly be praying for you Mama. Such a blessing. ♡♡♡
My heart is with you as I hold u in prayer . My son is a rising senior, I thought I was ok until I received the notification to schedule senior pictures!! Water works ensued as you so accurately stated for the tangle of emotions! This was also the case when my daughter graduated. I’m thrilled the tender part of my heart survived teenage attitude!! Congratulations on Hunters graduation!!
Congrats on Hunter’s Graduation! I also have a son named Hunter who is also graduated and will be going in ministry field 🙂 We’re blessed
What a beautiful picture, my friend. You’ve grown up one good boy!
Gratulations Hunter Gwen I feel the exact same emotions since my daughter graduates tomorrow as well
Congratulations Hunter and mom l can relate. Our God is faithful to take care of his children and blessings them. As parents we always pray and Love and share wisdom with them. I have three sons graduated from college and a daughter God is faithful in blessings them and he will do the same for you. Enjoy the moment 😊!!!!
Our last son graduated 8 years ago, and I remember those feelings like yesterday. While I cried inside a little with each one, the last was the most difficult. I “ugly cried” all day as we packed to move him. I wrote him a tear-stained letter from the deepest parts of my heart and stuck it into his boxes so he would find it as he unpacked. As we left him at his dorm and drove away, tears streaked down my face as my husband tenderly looked at me and said, “Are you going to be alright??” I cried as I explained that I’d been a mommy nearly our entire marriage and I didn’t know what to do now. I had lost my “identity.” As he assured me that I was still their mom and they still needed me my phone rang. It was the son we’d just left behind, “Mom, did I leave my iPod in the car, because that’s the only place it could be.” I turned to look in the back seat and sure enough, there it was. I smiled as my hubby did a U-turn, because it was then that I realized, “Yep…they still need me!” :). God is so faithful…that son is now married, and adulting. While I understand your mix of emotions, the future with adult children is also incredible, and alone time with your spouse is also a blessing (and an adjustment! 😉. Prayers for peace and joy as you experience this next phase of life. Love you, Gwen.
My “baby boy” now has babies of his own but I remember well the exact feeling you’re experiencing. That was my same verse I had for my son on his graduation and again after college when he joined the army. But oh, the joy set before you of adventures that await you both together in the future. Hang in there, Momma – the days ahead hold even more and richer experiences and joy to come!
Thanks for sharing this life journey with us. Praying for your son & all graduates for God’s love & protection to overflow in & through them as they continue their journey in Christ.
My son is graduating from high school today as well and I feel torn too. I’m excited to see what all God has in store for him but yet sad to see him growing up so fast. Enjoy tonight and God bless your family.
All the best to Hunter.
He is such a handsome boy👌🏾