It is the eve of Sarah’s departure…..We get to watch her do what she loves most…. Singing!
After a night of concerts at the high school, we go home to enjoy a pizza together and put the finishing touches on packing.
Now, the house is quiet and I sort through an array of emotions and thoughts:

Encouraging
Melancholy
Tear stained
Heartfelt
Joyful
Proud
And
Surrendered
Won’t you  journey with me?

Up until now we have anticipated and prepared, we have invested time in understanding what it is to “serve with eyes wide open.” We have taken the necessary steps required to stay healthy and safe….shots, passports, and eating lots of blueberries and pinto beans to boost the immunity. We have opened our hearts and minds to God’s Word and His leading. (even when it wasn’t easy) And, we have worked hard crunching homework assignments and meeting deadlines and auditions (well at least Sarah has).
Walking in the Center of His will has served me well all the days of my life! Now, as I wrestle with my emotional mother’s heart on this eve of goodbye’s….I expect nothing less. In many ways this is a BIG ADVENTURE for Sarah, but I also know that she understands the sobriety of it all and the eternal implications that will be indelibly stamped into who she is and what she is becoming.

There is something to be said for valuing a full and meaningful life.  Journaling, for me,  has been a means to capturing ALL OF IT. So as she goes, I send her off with her own journal, to fill in the lines as only she can. It is a mere gift today, but one day it will become a collection of her thoughts, memories, treasures, and ultimately, a very special chapter in the story of her life.
How proud we are of her, for taking this giant step of faith, for being both brave and sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in her young life, for becoming a beautiful woman of God who has enjoyed some of the finer things in life, but isn’t afraid to strip it all away either.

As I tuck her in one last time (at least for a good long while) there isn’t a doubt in my mind that her exuberant and authentic life will radiate good deeds, good gospel and good journaling.
I already long for they day when you return, my dear girl Sarah. But until that time,
EVERYTHING that IS and IS TO COME….I surrender to you Lord.

Crystal