Session 1 - God's Family

Hey there, moms and dads. Welcome to Prep for College: Parent Edition. First, we want to say well done! You have made it to a huge milestone in your parenting journey. You are about to send your emerging adult to college, and we believe that this is good news for your relationship with each other and with God.

As their parents, you have walked through so much together. You have seen them through diapers, taking their first steps, homework at the kitchen table, taking big trips, applying to universities, and so much more. You have seen the highs and lows and have been there through tears, laughs, arguments, fears. You have also seen their faith in God grow through the years. There is a flood of memories that probably rush through your mind as you begin to reflect on the journey you have been on, and will continue to walk on, in the coming days. Allow yourself permission to create space to feel all the feelings that come up in you as you begin to reflect on the past and dream for the future in your relationship with your child.

With your journal, take a moment to recall some of your most cherished memories with your child and write a prayer thanking God for this gift.

Now that we have spent some time reflecting and praising, let’s name some truths. Soon, your child will be transitioning to college. They may be preparing to move out of your house and into a new city. We say child but they are no longer children. They are now legal adults. They can vote, get married, open a bank account, go to the doctor, move states, and so much more, all without your consent. This is a major transition not only for your child but also for you. It is powerful to name and identify that the dynamic of your relationship is changing, not just sit through the motions as it is happening. The whole family is in transition. When we are in transition the ground beneath our feet shifts, causing us to be in moments of vulnerability. Your child is in this space of vulnerability entering college. And YOU are in this space of vulnerability as a parent, never before have you done this with this child. We have choices to make and paths to take. Will this transition be good news for your personal faith and trust in God? Will it be good news for your relationship and connection with your emerging adult?

We can enter this change healthily with prayer, intentionality, preparation, and processing. At the beginning of this change, let’s confess that our emerging adults are not ours, they belong to God. Their lives are His. We have been entrusted by the Lord to steward and shepherd their lives, and what an incredible privilege it is. As they step into this next chapter of their lives, which inevitably will usher you into yours, may we grow in the reality of the true family they belong to, the family of God. In faith, we believe their time at college can deepen all of our faith in God and usher all of us into who He has created us to be. May we take this transition in our families as an opportunity to continue to relinquish control to the Father and dare to believe that He can truly do more than we can think, ask, or imagine in their lives and our own… right from the get-go.

Reflection Questions and Prompts

• Begin this devotional journey kneeling before the Father - where all families derive their name. Confess that your emerging adult does not belong to you but to God.
• Journal: What do you feel the Spirit leading you to do before you send your student to college? How can you start this new chapter well and with intention?