I was feeling kinda blue, since I had recently taken my son 500 miles away for his first semester at Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas. His first two years he lived at home and attended the local community college, but he was off on his own now. Although he was always "out" more than "in" in recent years, I would still somehow miss having him around, and miss hearing his constant talking about "football". I would even miss our frequent "disagreements" about just how old he really was and how much freedom and responsibility that allotted him. The house had been a constant battle zone, but it was already empty without him.
His Dad had died unexpectedly the previous fall, and I worried about him being so far away. But this was what he wanted, and I wanted it for him, too. He was still hurting from the loss, though he wouldn't admit it; but I knew ... a mother always knows the heart of her child. I was still very much dealing with my own loss, and now I was losing another loved one, to the natural progression of growing-up. He had been gone only a week, but I missed him dearly!
As Glenn began his sermon, I quickly recognized the theme of "The Prodigal Son." I had heard this story many, many times and didn't much think there was anything new to learn from it on this day. Besides, I had errands to run after church, so I took this time to prepare a shopping and errand list to do.
As I worked on my list, I kept hearing bits and pieces of what Glenn was saying, but I worked on; my list was important to me. Before long, I realized I had stopped writing entirely and was listening intently to Glenn's message. He was speaking directly to me, and to all the other parents who had recently sent their beloved sons and daughters off into the "far away land" of college campuses.
As Glenn spoke on, I saw a new dimension of the "Prodigal Son" being laid out before me. My son was not abandoning his home and his family to live a fruitless life in the far away land as the Biblical prodigal, but he was very much leaving the closeness of the family circle to begin his new adventure into college life and adulthood and the influences he would be under while there. He was leaving the daily life and example of a Christian home his Dad and I had tried to give to our two sons, and to each other.
We couldn't give them much, but we could give them this. We had long felt that the most important responsibility we would ever have in our lives was parenthood. God had entrusted these two precious lives to our care, and we simply could not fail in this responsibility. We could not make our children embrace salvation through God's grace, but we had to expose it to them and show them how very important it was to us. As best as we could, we had done that. Our two young sons were now going off on their own. It was up to them to take the lessons and example they had learned from us and then decide for themselves what was truly important to them and how they would lead their own lives.
And now, it was time to let go of the apron strings. It was time to let my son soar or fall; it was up to him now. There would be many, many uncertain days while I waited for my son to return home from his venture into the "far away land." Would I have the courage to meet him halfway up the path with open arms and a joyful heart? Would I have a heart able to forgive him for the pain and uncertainty I would experience while he was treking in the far away land?
Well, those questions are still unanswered. Although he returned home from college after only a year to work and live at home for another year, he is still very much in the "far away land." He moved into an apartment and has been on his own for over a year, now, but in reality he has been in the far away land since about age 16. You see, that is another dimension of the Prodigal story. You don't have to "go" anywhere to trek into the "far away land." It's fairly typical of our teenage children to "go off into a world of their own" somewhere in their mid-teens. They go to a place where they feel they are an adult, and no longer need the influence or intrusion of their parents' rules and influence. It is their peers they look to for information, influence and acceptance. It is during this time that parents have to wait at home, wait patiently for their beloved son or daughter to be seen coming up the path, and rush out to welcome them back with open arms and forgiving hearts.
I recognized myself in Glenn's message. God awaits the return of his children from their trek in the "far away land", just as the father in the Prodigal story awaits the return of his son, and just as I await the return of my son from his own journey. I look forward to the day when I will see him coming up the path and I can rush out to greet him and welcome him home with loving arms and a forgiving heart.
If you have a loved one who is treking in the "far away land", have hope! Just as in the Prodigal story, they will return. And just as in the Prodigal story, be there waiting for them with love and acceptance and forgiveness.
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