Prayer for Growth

He pulled out the drive way for the first time on his own.
Alone.
Without us there to point the way.
Without us to push down on our imaginary brake.
Without us by his side.
Like the first step he took before tumbling to the ground.
Like the first day we dropped him at preschool.
When you hand the keys over to your 16-year-old, with his newly-minted, laminated driver's license that the state of Florida says he has earned, something within your soul shifts.
A rite of passage we call it.
A moment I remember how liberating and free I felt years ago when my parents handed me the keys to the blue Ford station wagon and crumpled ten dollar bill for gas.
Yet, there is something more here too.
This isn't just about driving, it is about time slowly slipping, almost silently, away.
You realize that soon, too soon, he will pull out of the drive way not just for a few hours, but for weeks as he heads to college.
You realize that soon, too soon, his socks will stop constantly be left laying around to end up in the dog's mouth.
You realize that soon, too soon, it isn't just that he is growing up...you are too.
But for now, we sit restlessly praying for him to be careful.
But for now, we wait for the text telling us he got there safe.
But for now, we will lay awake until we breathe a sigh of relief hearing the garage door rattle to life.
Now.
This moment.
Holy, broken whole, and knowing that while we don't have a magical remote control that could rewind or pause time, we have the chance to witness the one we once held in our arms growing up before our eyes.
Holy, broken whole, and knowing that suddenly life really does go too quick, which you couldn't have convinced us of during all those late nights walking around the house trying to calm his crying.
Holy, broken whole, and knowing that in this one particular moment there is a universal truth:
We prayerfully seek to do the best we can, where we can, how we can.

Let that prayer offer us more than a trace of grace.
Let that prayer open us to God's presence saturating every moment.
Let that prayer watch over those I love every day.
Happy birthday and congratulations and love to my son who I once held in my arms and now drives away to explore this world.

Amen ~~