The past week of getting ready to send our daughter off to college was one of the sweetest weeks we have ever had.
It all began as I found myself having a flashback to when our daughter was just learning to talk. She was curious and asked lots of questions. I did my best to answer but eventually, I wondered aloud when it would stop because it was exhausting. I recalled when her little personality began to emerge as a three-year-old and my exasperated self would tell others that I was dealing with the terror associated with this age.
Then, I had received sage counsel about the words I spoke aloud. I was advised to give thanks for the qualities I desired to see and to call out what I believed she was purposed to do. In other words, I was encouraged to speak words of blessing over our daughter and pray for her.
I realized how that advice stuck with me for these past 15 years. More than physical gifts, my greatest desire was to see our daughter receive words of blessing and covered in prayer as she prepared for this new season.
With just days before she left, we asked family and friends who have impacted our daughter’s life to visit with us or chat with her via a video call. Each person was asked to share their own life lessons from college or advice on how to navigate through college. In addition, they shared words of blessing and prayed for her as she prepared to embark on this journey.
I don’t even have the words to express how special each conversation was. The presence of God was just so tangible. We truly sensed His love, joy, and peace during each moment at a time where we feared our hearts would be shattered into pieces.
From this week, the Lord has impressed the following upon my heart. As the body of Christ, we need each other. We are a family called to love each other through thick and thin, build each other up through our words, and lift one another up in prayer. Our unity is the greatest demonstration of God’s love to a world in desperate need of it.
“To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing” (1 Peter 3:8-9).
My heart is overflowing with gratitude for many reasons right now, but at the top of my list is every soul who joined us in sending our daughter off to be the light she has been purposed to be. May the Lord help us all to walk alongside each other. “For when you demonstrate the same love I have for you by loving one another, everyone will know that you’re my true followers.” (John 13:35 TPT)
~Joyce
