Look what Chicky was up to this week…
I don’t know if you can tell, but that box contains graduation invitations.
Yet another milestone for the girl…for all of us, actually.
As I write this, Chicky and the Mr. are on their way home from an out-of-town visit.
They were down south, visiting a college.
But it wasn’t Rollins.
It was another college.
You see, the hard week I referred in one of my recent posts was about Chicky’s recent announcement that she wants to attend a different college.
In a way, I wasn’t completely surprised, but the news still came as a shock. It’s been something I’ve been coming to terms with over the last two weeks.
This has been similar to a grieving process. Rollins seemed like the perfect fit – academically, athletically, and socially.
I was numb at first. Then, I got angry. I asked a lot of questions.
In between those phases, I cried a lot.
I tend to be a woman of my word, so for me, her going back on her promise to play soccer at Rollins just reeked of poor judgment.
Poor Chicky. I know it was hard for her. She had wrestled with this decision for a while before getting up the courage to speak her mind.
She told us that she believes that God is leading her somewhere else. She recently found out that Rollins’ head coach accepted a position at a larger school in a different state. She took this as a sign from God that this was not the school for her.
She wants to attend a small, Christian college – Southeastern University. It also happens to be the college that Guy Friend attends, although she made quick assurances that his presence there isn’t the reason she wants to attend (I’m not completely sold on that).
The thing about this college is that the environment is Christian-oriented. Chicky wants to immerse herself in this atmosphere where partying isn’t the main reason students choose to attend.
The school has a number of athletic teams, including a women’s soccer team. Guy Friend plays on the men’s team.
I’ve gotta tell you that this has been a defining moment in her life and mine as well.
As a mom, Chicky’s decision has become the event that has led me to let go of her. I have come to the realization that Chicky is her own person, and this is her life.
For her, I think it has become important that she be the “driver” of her life, so to speak. I pray she understands that she’s only riding in the front seat beside God, who is really the One in control of her life.
This decision, though, has caused Chicky to take up the reins and drive the vehicle that has turned off the path already paved into the unknown.
She spent the following days calling Rollins’ coaches (oy, but this grieves me so much as I LOVE them), getting her soccer release taken care of, and applying for admission to the new school. She has also been applying for scholarships and financial aid, as this is another private college and not cheap.
She wants to go, and she’s making every effort to make it happen.
This is a new beginning for her.
It has become a huge lesson of trust for me.
I know that God has a plan for her life. I don’t know if she’s making a mistake. I thought, at first, that she was. Now, I’m not so sure.
But I know that whether it’s a mistake or whether it truly has been God’s plan for her all along, God will use whatever comes to shape her life and make her into the woman He intends for her to be.
The trust comes in letting God do His thing without my worrying about it.
I am also having to learn to trust Chicky.
In the middle of my huge sob-fest, Chicky drew near, tears running down her own face, and asked me to trust her.
I’m trying. It’s hard. But God is working on my heart.
This is, quite obviously, a new beginning for me as well.
Filed under: children, Christian | Tagged: college, teenagers | 3 Comments »
AuburnChick's Adventures 