The Last

Well tonight will be the last for many kids and parents. Tonight most schools in our area are playing their last football game of the season because they did not make the playoffs. Many parents will watch their boys suit up for the last time, cheerleader uniforms will be hung up for that one last time. As Mommas across the state wipe their eyes they will stand in their last spirit line and watch their boys run through a homemade sign while another Mom wipes her tears as her daughter holds that sign for the very last time.

.

I'm sure teachers will not get much accomplished today as I'm sure the kids are out of control. I can just hear the hallways buzzing today as kids are laughing, shouting and getting their players fired up for the big game. Excitement filled my house this morning! Gabe was in his usual routine but Kristina was bouncing off the walls with the radio blaring.

.

I stood in my bathroom and listened to her as she giggled while texting her friends and sang to the radio. I thought to myself how this time next year will be my last with her. Next year will be her final year in high school and although I am so ready to be done with high school as far as she is concerned I am still quite emotional at the thought of it. Colleges have started sending letters and applications are now lining my kitchen table. Although I am not at my last tonight I'm thinking of the parents who are.

.

Did we teach them right? Are they ready for the world? Will they make the right decisions? What if they get lost? Who will wash their clothes? I've never taught them how a laundry mat works? What about food? They can't cook! Oh, gracious, what about ironing? Kristina uses a flat iron to iron her clothes still! Can I go with them?

.

The Bible tells us exactly what to do with our kids in Proverbs 22:6 "Point your kids in the right direction — when they're old they won't be lost." (MSG). The one thing we parents need to make sure our kids have as they pack up and leave our homes for the last time is a navigation system. Not for their cars, for their lives! It doesn't matter if the majority of their teenage life things have been hard or weird or maybe not centered where they are supposed to be. Today, you can make that change! You can stand firm and commit to point your child in the right direction. His direction! Oh I would much more prefer my child be lost on a college campus than be lost and find themselves in Hell. Life is about mistakes. Life is about firsts and lasts. Joys and sorrows. It's about finding yourself and letting go. It's about finding peace, but standing up. But tonight, as many of our children will take the field for the last time make sure they are pointed in the right direction! Make sure they are pointed towards Him!