We’re about to take our eldest son to university for the first time. For the last few months, friends have been warning me about how hard this is for parents and so I’ve prepared myself to feel a bit sad, while also knowing that this is the right thing and the right time for him to go.
What I hadn’t prepared for was how much this feels like an earthquake. In a way, it’s also not dissimilar to what it feels like to go through childbirth. It hurts, it’s inevitable, I don’t want to do it, but of course I want to see the new life that will come from at the end.
The Bible uses birth imagery in a few places, and Jesus says to someone who comes at night to ask questions about faith that if anyone wants to see God’s kingdom, they have to be born again. The man, of course, finds this confusing. (John 3)
A later writer talks about all of creation being in labour as it waits to see all it has hoped for. This hope is described as the realisation of how much we are loved with a love that is so strong that nothing can separate us from it. (Romans 8)
Whether you are a student, leaving home, or someone looking forward to a different kind of start, I hope at this new beginning you will know that you are loved and that this will be a year for you of growth and life.
These words are from a poem by Malcolm Guite based on Psalm 20:
All given for your growth, and your delight,
All flowing for you from his sanctuary.
Even before you enter in, his light
Is blessing you. Now may his mystery
Still draw you on, arouse your heart’s desire,
And may each glimpse become epiphany.
Karen Turner
Thank you, Karen. Wise reminder in a few well-chosen words!