As They Leave the Nest

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16, ESV)

It is at this time of year … when flowers bloom, yards green up, kids who have been kids for a long time … have grown up right before our eyes and are graduating from High School!

I’ve watched their young faces as they anticipate what lies in the future, listened to their dreams and expectations for many years and it never grows old! And then I think quietly to myself how they will handle the challenges of life ahead.

Living an almost care-free life that will propel them into a new world of friends, academic challenges and into faith and spiritual challenges,  their future will be fraught with dangers both obvious and unseen … yet their future can be ripe with opportunities for growth and development physically, mentally, emotionally but most of all spiritually!

• Have we prepared them for the next chapter in their lives?
• Have we exemplified in ourselves how we want them to live?
• Have we prayed with them, over them and for them?
• Are we the parents or grandparents we want them to come to when they are not sure of what to do, what to say or to make a decision?
• Have we taught them to trust the Lord with their heart, their life and their soul?

When they board the plane or get in the over packed car and leave our driveway, our responsibilities have not ended!  We, too, are entering into a new chapter of our lives and we must insert ourselves into the text!

There is a helpful and encouraging passage of Scripture that is found in Psalm 46:1 that can be a continual go-to passage for our young and for us who are older or more mature in age.  Think about these words … memorize them … write them down where you can see them regularly.  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Yes, our God is always available … even in the tight places of life … we just all need to learn of our real need to turn to Him and turn often!  And we will never be turned away or ignored!

“O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You:  My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)

Bill Fairchild, Jr.

P.S. How are you doing on your daily Bible reading?