The First Day

My parents have always told me about my first day of Kindergarten and how they cried as I got on the bus. I have always thought they must have just been a little over emotional but today....I realized they were definitely not over emotional! My little Jack is a kindergartener...my little Jack. The whole family took him to school to celebrate his big day with him. Matt and I stood back watching him leave with 24 other kids to walk into an elementary school...an elementary school! Our baby!
As we drove home, holding back the tears, I said to Matt..."he's out of the safe zone." He's not at the safe little Christian preschool down the street anymore. There are a lot of kids from different places and different backgrounds and it's a little scary to let your little baby go not knowing what he is going to learn about or hear on the playground. It has brought our job as parents to a whole new level. We have spent a lot of our summer really trying to learn Jackson and Boston as individuals so that we can better parent them. One thing we learned about Jackson is that homeschooling was not the way to go for him, at least not right now. With a 4 year age difference between him and his younger brother, he needs something all his own with friends his age. We recognize as his parents that makes our time with him all the more important. It takes spiritual leading to a whole new level. It's gonna take a lot of prayer and a lot of listening to the Holy Spirit. It was pretty heart breaking when he asked why they didn't pray before snack or go to chapel at his new school. This is where we believe God wants Jack right now and so as Matt explained to him..it's a place to teach friends who Jesus is and be a leader for His Kingdom. At the end of class the teacher told me that he was an awesome listener and would be a great helper this year. Oh dear Lord, may he remain that way. May he hear your voice above all others and be a great leader in your Kingdom. What an awesome young man you are becoming my dear Jackson.