I spent a little time this morning visiting with one of our newest housemoms, Angie Joiner. Mrs. Angie and Mr. Barry have 3 kids, besides the ones they care for in the family home here at CHI. One of their beautiful, talented daughters is in college. One will be graduating from high school next week. And their son is the youngest, a handsome, talented young man in his own rights.
Mrs. Angie was telling me about how emotional she’s feeling right now, as their daughter is experiencing “lasts” – last concert, last band banquet, last days of school, etc. It is a time when parents seem to reflect on all the experiences we’ve shared with our kids and wonder how the time went so quickly. We also look to the future and think about the things our offspring will face as adults and how much we want them to make good choices and decisions that will benefit them. Emotions seem to overwhelm us as we watch these young adults, who mean the world to us, beginning a new phase of life, in which we’ll play a much smaller role than before. Joy, worry, pride, anxiety, loneliness, excitement and a host of other feelings blend to create an emotional flood that seems to swirl around our knees and threaten to pull us under at times. Tears come as easily and often as laughter.
I can easily understand how Mrs. Angie was feeling and I felt teary myself as we talked. One of my sons is making plans to go into the Air Force and the other is talking about going away to graduate school in the fall. But we aren’t the only families facing these transitions. The Brooms have a daughter graduating. And the Moneys have a long-term resident – a young lady who has shared their home for many years – who will also graduate next week. The people who live and work here have watched those two young ladies grow up, so there’s a very real sense in which many of us feel a part of their accomplishment and have an emotional involvement as they graduate.
All of us are praying for these young adults as they take the next step in their lives. All of us want the very best for them. And all of us covet your prayers for them, too. You, also, have been a part of their lives in whatever way you have touched them. We know you rejoice for their accomplishments and pray God’s blessings on their futures. Thank you for the lives you are touching.
