Yesterday (Tuesday) was a day of tears. Well actually there were a few dropping on Monday as well. (No actually they started the week before when I paid the tuition bill.) Katy’s leaving town. She’s going to Bethel University in Minneapolis MN. Monday was packing day, we left early Tuesday morning. Got all the kids up around 7am and sat in the living room for about 45 minutes with everyone sharing what they would miss about Katy, her smile, singing country music at the top of her lungs, bodily noises at the dinner table, her “looks” (that’s just one of them), her blonde one-liners, her presence at church, and the list went on and on. Then everyone shared what they would be praying for…for her, good friends, do well at school, not be nervous, find a good church, deepen her relationship with God. Then we went around the room and prayed for her. Then the tears started to flow! Good tears.

They continued with the hugs and kisses goodbye. Then they continued the rest of that day as we drove to Minnesota. In fact Lynn fell asleep soon after we left State College and when she woke up, she was crying in her sleep! She walked into a Starbucks at a rest-stop in Ohio — Katy was with her — and the lady at the counter asked her if she was taking her daughter to school…and the tears started to flow.

I told Katy I was going to buy a lottery ticket, so that if we won, we could say that the luckiest day we ever had was the day she left for school! She didn’t think it was all that funny?

So here we are in Minnesota. Tomorrow we move her into her dorm. Bethel is a great school. Lynn and I met there, got engaged there, studied there, made commitments to God there, and even studied there. So I’ve got all sorts of thoughts running through my heart, excited anticipation for what God might do in and through her while she is there and a little bit of sadness that I won’t see her every day.

There will be more tears tomorrow. Lynn might not stop for a few days…but they are good tears, the kind of tears that come because good relationships have been formed, good memories made, and good hopes prayed.

It got me thinking again about the whole God is my Father thing, how sometimes when I want him right there telling me what to do next, maybe He’s letting me go…so that I can grow? I love my kids, each and every one of them is special and God keeps telling me that he loves his kids even more than I love mine. I’m glad I’m his kid. I’m glad my kids are his kids. Good tears.