Back-Posting 1: Blessing Tea

I am so wayyyy behind on my postings and I know many of you can barely face the day knowing you don't have my postings to get you through. Well, all 2 of you.... :P

The week BEFORE Lauren left for UNC, Sue and her mom, Karen gave a "Blessing Tea" for Lauren. I had never heard of this concept but here was what was written in the invitation sent to a handful of "older" women who have had/have an influence in her life---whether as a small group leader or as someone who faithfully prayed for her over the years.

"Dear Friends,

In the near future, Lauren will begin a new life journey as she enters The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. My mother and I will be hosting a “Blessing Tea” in honor of this transition and the journey Lauren has made so far. You have been invited to share in this special occasion, because of the positive influence you have had in Lauren’s life.
We wish to encourage Lauren as she begins her studies at UNC. In preparation for the tea, would you please share some wisdom, encouragement, insight, and exhortation with Lauren in the form of a letter. These meaningful thoughts will be placed in a book that Lauren can carry with her to college as a resource of inspiration and encouragement while she is away from home. Each of you have witnessed the mighty work that God has begun in Lauren’s life. Let’s continue surrounding her with love and support to “run with endurance, the race that is set before (her), fixing (her) eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…”
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with Lauren. Your exhortation, encouragement and prayers will be a precious gift to her.

Some suggestions that you might include in the letter are as follows:

Your season of life (young adult, grandmother, etc.)
Your personal testimony of coming to faith in Christ
An admonishment, exhortation, challenge or vision for her
Words of wisdom passed on to you from family and friends
Responsibilities and expectations on becoming a woman of
Godly character
Common pitfalls of life that challenge all of us (peer pressure,
misguided priorities)
Your relationship with Lauren and how you have specifically seen
God’s hand on her life
Scripture that has been an encouragement to you
Inspiration on how to live life beyond mere existence to true living
What godly maturity looks like to you"

Mrs. Bullock and Zoe came in from out of town. Jamie, Lauren's small group leader for the last 3 years was there too. Tammy (Lauren's God mother) and Mrs. Darling, her 11th grade English teacher (she was like a mentor) couldn't make it, but their letters did.

It was a sweet, sweet time of surrounding Lauren and everyone cried, but Lauren. We cried when we each read our own letters to her. We cried when we listened to other women reading their letters. I was so grateful to be reminded how God has through the years filled my daughter's life with women who have prayed for/with her and have intentionally invested in her to spur her on in her walk with God.

No one knew what the other person would write, but it was "so God" when similar verses were used by different writers. Similar themes emerged and from a group of 8 women, there was a coherent message from God. I think the women there were almost as blessed being a part of this tea as she was. The tea ended with Lauren telling us her fears and prayer requests and Zoe closed us out in prayer.

For those of you who have daughters, this is a powerful BLESSING way of sending off your daughter. I was grateful for the love of Karen (and Sue) to want to do this for Lauren. It was a wonderful "event" that so clearly pictured the Biblical idea of older women teaching younger women. I think when she has time to read and reread the letters in a compilation, they will bless, and guide her in years to come.

I wish I could include everyone else's letter here, but I have only mine to share. And similar to my wedding vows, I want a place to have this letter to remind ME of how I am to continue to pray for my adult daughter.

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Dear Pooky,

Next to God, I perhaps have had the biggest privilege to see and experience most of your accomplishments. Your first wailing cry, your first word, your first steps, your first prayer, your first day of school and most recently your last day of school. I have seen you in all the good, the bad, the ugly, the fashionable, the goofy and the amazing. And what a journey its been. I couldn’t have scripted it better if I tried. God’s Sovereign hand has been the instrument in it all and I am both grateful to Him and extremely proud of you and blessed by you.

Jesus said "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6) I am grateful that at the age of twelve, Christ called you to himself and allowed you to hear Him. Even as I reflect that only yesterday, August 13, twenty-seven years ago, I experienced the same choice. And in forty years of life, it has been the most important choice of my life.

I have seen you make a lot of choices in that last 18 years. I have made many of those choices for you. I have watched you experience the consequences – both good and bad – because of your choices. I have fought you and beamed in pure delight with some of your the choices. And mostly, I was accountable to God for teaching you and showing you how and why to make choices, not for yourself, but for Him. But now, they are all for you to make. The choices that are set before you from this point on, are all yours to own.

Life is a constant flow of making choices. The choice to follow Christ or the choice to follow anything else. The choice that leads to life or the choice that leads to death. The choice to honor Christ or the choice to honor yourself. The choice to believe truth or the choice to believe a lie.

The choices you make will determine the woman you will become. They will define your character and impact the path you follow more than just choosing the college you attend or a major to study.

The choices that will most define you will not always be the obvious public moments, although they are significant. They will not be about your future writing accomplishments or how you will light up the stage. Some of the most significant and most important choices that will shape you, are the ones that are unexpected. They are quiet and private. They are in the still of your heart where only God sees your decision. They appear to be unseemingly small and of little consequence at the time. Those choices will always question you to live out what you believe God’s truth to be.

John 8:31-32 Jesus says: "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

You have already made the choice to be free in Christ. Now is the time to live out that freedom in a season and place with opportunities far beyond your imagination. You will do well at UNC, that is a given. Enjoy all that God is prepared before you, but learn to live free in Christ’s truth daily. This season in your life is not just about the academic achievements we are confident you will attain, it is also the time in your life where you will choose to live what you believe.

I am profoundly proud of you. I profoundly loved the child you were and love the woman you are becoming. My prayer for you during these next four years will not be about the growth of your mind and academic knowledge, but the growth of your heart in the truth of Christ and His wisdom.

“I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my child(ren) walking in the truth.” (3 John 1:4)

I love you to God’s heard and back,
Mommy

P.S. – I don’t care what anyone else says, God IS a Tarheel. Why else did He create the sky to be Carolina blue?
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Send-off and Move-In

Yesterday was Lauren's "final" night at home. To celebrate her heading to UNC, we treated her to dinner at a restaurant of her choice. She picked "Iris" at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

It was a meaningful time of appetizers, entrees, lattes and dessert. Then we headed home and packed the truck, got ready for bed and slipped into Jammies and piled into our bed and talked and laughed and anticipated move-in day. We stayed up to almost midnight.

She did not know it, but she "filled-up" my Lauren bucket much. Her heart was in a place that wanted to be close to Mommy and Danny and home and the safety she is so accustomed to. Maybe she was trying to fill up her Mommy bucket too.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning and although we planned to leave for UNC at 7:30, I could not fall back asleep. I tossed and turned and prayed (begged) God to protect my daughter as she begins her journey of college life. The struggle of letting go was more difficult than I had expected. I am still her mother, but she does not (or should she) need her Mommy anymore.

So little prepares you for parenthood and so little prepares you for the end of it. It is never what it seems until you experience it.

Finally it was time to head out and she sleepily came down the stairs. She said good-bye to the Bitty and BamBam. Danny had a great idea last night and snuck out and got glass paint and we decorated the truck in her honor. She thought this was quite funny and I loved the enthusiasm my husband brings to every aspect of life. We would enjoy the smiles and looks we got through out the day while in the truck through out Raleigh/Chapel Hill.

The weather was nice and sunny as we arrived in Chapel Hill by 8:15 (after a Starbucks stop). We drove around and found her dorm. We hit the Panera Bread for breakfast 'cause check-in time wasn't 'til 9.

Moving in was extremely organized and convenient. Lauren is on the 2nd floor of a co-ed dorm. She is in a suite with 8 girls. They share 1 bathroom with 2 sinks, 1 shower and 1 toilet! (YIKES!) But they have housekeeping cleaning the bathrooms everyday during the week (NICE!). Turns out no one from her suite is from NC. There are girls from Texas, San Diego, and Seattle! Her roomate Megan lives in Hickory, NC (3 hrs away), but has only been there for 3 years and is really from Maine.

Megan is a sweet, tall, bright red head. She is friendly but not an overly dominant personality. Think Sue Scudder for a close reference :) Megan's parents seem nice and we (including Lauren) think it will be a great living situation.

The best news of all is her dorm has AIR CONDITIONING! Thank God. Seriously. Not all the rooms have units and it was sort of "hit or miss." The rooms have plenty of space and she has a nice window view of trees, etc. Her dorm is close to the baseball and football stadiums, which will be convenient now that she is an avid Tarheel. We also noticed that the mattresses are all covered in a plastic casing. This means: NO BED BUGS!

Unpacking and organizing stuff took very little time. We were surprised at how much space she did NOT use up. Other than the bathroom situation, her "home" is quite nice and she should be very comfortable there.

We hit the bookstore to pick up her books, printer, and yes, got sucked into the AWESOMENESS of all that Carolina blue STUFF. You name it, and they've got it.

We had hoped to hit the Lime and Basil, a Vietnamese place for lunch but they were closed. Boo. But smart, Franklin Street (the main/cool strip with all the shops and food) was crazy. After settling for Jimmy John's we headed over to Sugarland -- a bakery that had gelato! We first learned about Sugarland when watching it being featured on Food Network! Too cool! It was YUM-eeeeee.

By now it was almost 2:30 and we had done what we had come to do: drop off Lauren. It was time to say good-bye. Back in her dorm room, she laughed and almost seriously begged, "Don't leeeeeeeave meeeeeeeee!" I think if we had offered to stay another couple of hours she would have been grateful. But she was fine. She was moved-in and already texting all her friends about meeting up for dinner.

I was grateful she did not want us to go. Before we left, Lauren, Danny, and I held hands in a circle as Danny prayed over her and us. There were hugs and kisses and "I love you's" and smiles and a little bit of tears, but mostly smiles. It was a sweet time. It was a wonderful blessed day. We had so much fun together and there was so much love. How could I have asked for the chapter of parenthood to end any better?

And tomorrow? Lauren forgot a bag at home. Turns out she also needs couple of other items for her dorm. Danny and I are going to drop them off for her after church. Hmmmm, maybe she still needs Mommy for a little while longer.

Docent

I applied for the docent program at the North Carolina Museum of Art and was selected. It is a year long program of training and I won't be giving tours until next May or fall.

For those of you who are not familiar with a docent, the word comes from a Latin word that means to teach, and that is what docents do at museums around the country. Docents are specially trained volunteers who share their knowledge with a wide range of museum visitors on a regular basis. Their largest audience are school groups and they work closely with the education department and curators.

They are usually "retired, older" demographic. They are a hard-core group and my memories of them at the Freer/Sackler recalls they are sort of the "high maintenance prima dona" volunteers. I know, so perfect for me!

I start my training September and I am thrilled God has provided me this opportunity. It is a HIGH committment situation. Its kinda like a part-time job with no pay but lots of homework :)

I went in for my interview today, I walked the back hallways of the museum and it was like spending time with an old friend. I confess, I DO love the museum culture and all the workings it takes to put an exhibition together.

I love art and with the re-opening of NCMA, its an exciting time to become a part of this "new class." With the re-opening of the new building, NCMA has put itself significantly on the national stage.

So here's the best irony of all. The staff that interviewed me liked that I had tons of museum experience and knowledge, BUT what they LOVED was my small group experience with 7th grade girls!!! Tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor.