Well, today is a milestone day.  My only child starts high school.  And to make it even harder, for the first time he is attending the neighborhood school, so he left us for the bus stop instead of riding with his father to school.  In typical mom fashion, I watched from the living room window until the bus arrived and he was safely away.  I realize in a matter of days, this will become our normal routine and not seem unusual, but today is one of those days you mark on the timeline of your life.

The marking of a milestone always makes me reflect. Today I remember my own high school experiences.  I really enjoyed high school.  I had good friends, studied reasonably hard, and due to the strong youth group at my church, grew in my faith.  I pray for those same types of experiences for my son. In some ways I think he already has more confidence than I did at that age and hope in typical mom fashion that he achieves great things.

I also look back and think of the teachers and other adults that made a difference in my teenage years.  There were countless teachers that encouraged me, challenged me to reach further. Then there were John and Rosemary, the neighbors from church that always provided the safe haven away from the stormy teenage times at home.  I would often show up unannounced and full of emotion, and I was always welcomed and loved in their home.  They were so often the voice of reason in my emotional chaos.  This is something else I desire for my son, strong Christian adults to be a voice of reason in his life.

So today, as I adjust to this new phase in our family life, I also remember those who were so important to me as a teenager, and say a prayer of thanksgiving for their influence in my life.  I'm grateful they were there for me and that I've had the opportunity at least once to try to be that same influence to a young lady that baby sat for our son when he was small.  Now that my husband works with youth, I get to experience something from the lives of many of our church's teens.  They provide a richness to our lives that we would genuinely miss if they were not there.

So on this milestone day, who do you remember having a profound influence in your life?  Give thanks for them. and I hope you have the opportunity to carry their legacy forward another generation.

Choose Joy!