Many, many moons ago (wait for it…), a group of us girls decided last minute to go on a road trip to the Big A. Not the Big Apple but the BIG Austin :) One of our friends debated on whether she should go. “Well, I already had plans to go bowling tonight.” Are you serious? Seemed like a no brainer to me. Bowling or AUSTIN? Bowling or Austin? Bowling or Austin? #makinghardchoices She held her hands out like the blindfolded lady justice carefully weighing the scales of the matter. Her hands finally tipped like a seesaw as she shouted, “Austin, or bust, baby!”
We had a blast in Austin-almost literally. We came close to catching our hotel room on fire somehow with our heater, (maintenance was called by our neighbors to come check our room) we were mooning people (told you I’d get the punch line to ya) from the hotel room (it was a high rise and we were on floor 10-ish so it was more of a dare) I’m thinking my friend probably should have chose bowling in the end… Much tamer but not near as memorable!
Bowling or Austin was easy but we have to make much harder choices in life, don't we? My son is a senior this year and his college destination has weighed heavily on his mind. Okay, not really HIS mind but definitely MINE. He’s always walking around the house whistling as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. He has the YOLO personality and doesn’t stress. Me I’m more of the “If you fail to plan then you plan to fail.” (yeah, I’ve matured post-Austin;)
Tanner was accepted to Baylor, his preferred college. His big brother and sister are Baylor Alum so he’s been to all the homecomings, parents weekends, etc for seven years. It was the natural choice but we wanted him to compare at least two colleges so we could make a wise choice and give God room to “change our plans.”
As a momma, other than the cost of Baylor (which is basically crushing financially after two others going through), but still Baylor is so perfect for us…. and in Tanner’s mind it was the only choice. It was home for him. We are all comfortable there and it’s 1 hr 45 mins away (easy access to do some momma welfare checks in a pinch;) We could get him plugged into our daughter’s old church, etc. He applied to a few other schools but narrowed it down to two: Baylor or Oklahoma State.
We prayed, I asked friends to pray, Tanner was supposed to be praying ;) It had been months and we were getting to housing commitment time and no concrete decision or direction from God.
We went back and forth, back and forth with these two great schools: Baylor or OSU? Baylor or OSU? Baylor has this but OSU doesn’t, etc. We all really wanted him at Baylor but we wanted to hear from God.
So early this month we get a postcard from Baylor that says "if you're praying for a sign from God here it is” and it had the exit for Baylor University on the front…so Baylor, right? Maybe not. Tanner decided to open his email WHILE WE WERE STANDING there. I still had the postcard in my hand as he read the email. You have NOT been accepted into the School of Engineering at Baylor. He would have to change his major to enter Baylor. I said, “Son, I know that’s hard to swallow but maybe you are meant to be at Oklahoma State.” Tanner, being the ever resourceful stress-free kid that he is, responded that he was going to get tutoring and do another round of SAT/ACTS to improve his score and he whistled as he went to order a new SAT book online.
The next morning, I woke up to a daily devotional text that got my attention. The author of the devotional was at a critical point in her life. She had job opportunities on both the West and East coasts. She felt like if she chose the “wrong” one that God might not go with her but the gist of the text and her conclusion was that God would be with her WHEREVER she went. He would never leave her; never forsake her. Whether she went to the LEFT or RIGHT didn’t matter as much, it was more important that God was at the CENTER of whatever she was doing. She ended with a reference from Tanner’s life scripture that he memorized when he was 6 years old and is displayed on his letterman's jacket: Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.
That directional scripture refocused my attention. Sometimes it's not about right or wrong choices but more that God wants to be included because He loves us and knows the most direct path to our destination. I knew lady justice would tip her scales when the time was right…and we would have our answer to the question. As long as Tanner was seeking and following God, he was going to be okay… no matter which school he went to. The pressure was off. My prayer changed from Baylor or OSU? to “God be at the center of everything Tanner does. Let your word the the lamp to his feet and light to his path always. You are with him wherever He goes.”
Wondering whether it was Baylor or OSU? #spoileralert Hopefully he will have as much fun as we did in Austin;) Okay, maybe not that much fun.
Wondering whether it was Baylor or OSU? #spoileralert Hopefully he will have as much fun as we did in Austin;) Okay, maybe not that much fun.
When we did our college visit last weekend, this truck was parked next to ours
#bleedorange
#gopokes
#tannerisOSUbound
#gopokes
#tannerisOSUbound
1. Pray for God to line your thinking up with His and be willing to follow His plan
2. Wait (requires mucho patience)
3. Watch for God's direction (signs)
4. Be bold when you get your answer
