This whole process of sending our first off to college is a roller coaster.

It makes me reflect back to when Stephen would go out to sea when he was in the Navy. A few days before he’d go, we’d get irritable towards each other. Over time we realized that irritability was our way of processing the underlying emotions we were dealing with. As we grew in awareness, rather than being irritable with one another, we learned to enjoy those last few days together.

I see a parallel playing out here now. Each member in our family is processing Kate heading off to school in our own way. And it’s not all hearts and rainbows but there are moments of tension and irritability. Yet as we look beyond the surface and to the heart, we can see that it’s hard to let her go as we will miss her, and even though she’s excited and ready, she is entering an unknown herself.

I share this today as I know our family isn’t the only one sending a loved one off soon, or experiencing an unknown. If you can relate, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.

May we not take surface behaviors and emotions for face value. Instead, let’s be willing to take a step back and seek what’s happening at the heart level. When we do this this, we can see that often it’s a hurting heart trying to process and heal- not just for others but in our own hearts too. May we seek to meet one another at the heart. By doing this, let’s pray we grow in compassion and empathy to help us lay down the tension and irritability. And instead may we do our best to live out love towards one another in those days leading up to the send off.

With love and hope,
Shawn

People look at the surface, the Lord looks at the heart - 1 Samuel 16:7