This has been a big month as we launched our boy off to college at (UCSC) University of California Santa Cruz. For this month, I am grateful for a sending prayer for college freshmen (found at the beginning below and a staying prayer for the parents (found at the end) both written by Emily P. Freeman.
A Sending Prayer for College Freshmen
They’ll move out of home this week and will bring their bags filled with clothes and their boxes filled with books. But you see what they bring in their hearts: anticipation, adventure, love, regret, anxiety, motivation, and hope. They are a mix of excited, ready, terrified, and wide-eyed freedom. As they look for a fresh start, remind them of your faithfulness every morning, no matter where they call home. As they look for community, remind them you are always with them, no matter where they go. As they look for adventure, remind them how you walk on water, turn water to wine, feed thousands from just a few pieces of bread. Remind them how you bring life straight up out of death; beauty straight out of ashes.
May they be open to the greatest adventures found in your divine presence and the greatest love that comes from your heart. When insecurity, comparison, disappointment, and failure knock on their door, may they begin to understand this is part of growing up. They’re not doing it wrong. They’re just human. May they be quick to listen, open to apology, and swift to forgive. Weave wisdom into the fibers of their soul, burying the fruit of confidence, clarity, contentment, and a light heart.
May they not despise their humanity, rather may they embrace it. May they not despise their body, rather may they learn to receive and respect their shape as a gift. May they not despise their weakness, rather may they see how weakness brings a daily reminder to trust. May they not fear failure, rather may they thrive in the midst of it. May they not be quick to judge, rather may they be patient and curious.
Help them define true friends and to be a true friend in return. Help them to find their voice and to use it to be an advocate for themselves and for others. Help them to see with eyes filled with compassion, equity, justice, and love. Replace their shame with courage. Replace their confusion with peace. Replace their fear with a love that moves within them and around them beyond their ability to understand. May your grace surprise them kindly along their way. Amen.
A Staying Prayer for Parents of College Freshmen
The weeks have been marked with laughs, but now our grown-up children begin a new set of firsts. We help them pack their bags with clothes and boxes filled with books, but you see what we, their parents, carry in our hearts, anticipation, longing, love, regret, anxiety, nostalgia and resolve. We are a mix of excited, terrified and closed-eyed hope.
As we watch our children look for a fresh start, remind us to make our home in you. As we send our freshman off into the world, make our feet steady to stay behind, sure, confident, rooted, at peace. As we pray for our growing-up children to find good friends, may you bring prayerful friends to our own side to remind us we’re not alone.
If insecurity, fear or disappointment knock on our newly-quiet household door, may we turn to you and be still with our questions, rather than turn away toward the activity of a busy life. If we receive calls from our faraway students, though there may be tears and heartbreak on the other line, may we not set out to fix. Rather, may we sink deeper into you. Weave wisdom into the fibers of our soul, bearing the fruit of confidence, clarity, contentment and a light heart.
May we have the patience to believe even when the reports sound grim. May we not be quick to judge. Rather, may we be patient and curious. May we remember what our children need more than answers is to know they’re not alone. May we remember what they need more than advice is to know they’ve got what it takes. May we not despise our weakness. Rather, may we see how weakness brings a daily reminder to trust. May we feel the freedom to feel what we feel, without the pressure to be more happy, more sad or more anything other than simply who we are in this moment.
When we struggle to let go, in your time, replace our fear with courage and our confusion with peace. And when the not enoughs haunt us in the night, the fear that we didn’t love, teach, do or instruct enough while the kids were under our roof, comfort us with the assurance that you are the artist who weaves together the good and the beautiful from all things. Help us release our children into your hands. As parents sending children off all over the world, may your grace surprise us kindly in this time of newness, waiting and love. Amen.
