Seasons of Life, Seasons of Faith By Nancy Bockstiegel
As the mother of two young men, born 20 months apart, I have learned that there are seasons of life. Some seasons seemed to last longer than others. Like changing diapers. Sometimes, those days dragged on like the unending heat of summer in the south. Other seasons were gone in the blink of an eye, like a South Carolina snowfall that sticks around for just a day or two before the sunshine melts it away. Each stage of raising two boys has had its own unique challenges–potty-training, homework, the world of video games and cell phones, driving, dating, first jobs, school sports. Sometimes I thought they, or I, would not live to see the next stage of life. But the season that we are in now, the transition from a high school “kid” to an adult navigating all that the world throws at them, is perhaps the most challenging. I have realized that I am no longer in control of their choices, their future. Truthfully, I probably never was, but when they were little, at least I felt like I was in control. Now, they are making their own choices about church, college, life, and how they want to live it. My job now, more than ever, is to pray. It is through these times of prayer that I have seen God’s faithfulness at work.
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My oldest has always loved cars—fast cars. So, I pray for God’s protection over him when he is driving. Last April, he called and said, “Mom, I’ve been in a wreck. I need you to help me.” There are so many things that could have happened, and as a master of “what-ifs,” I played out every scenario in my mind. I prayed all the way there that he was not seriously hurt. Though I had talked to him, I do not think it prepared me for what we saw when we arrived at the scene. It had been raining. He hydroplaned, lost control, and landed upside down about 12 inches from someone’s house, destroying a fence that was in his path. But God had protected him. He walked away with a minor scratch. My first words to him were, “God is not finished with you.” God heard my prayers to protect him and He answered in a big way. My youngest son is in the Marine Corps. We have known since he was little that he would join the military, but I didn’t expect him to choose the Marines. Two weeks after graduating from high school last May, he left to quarantine and then start boot camp. That was one of the hardest days of my life because I knew that for the next 13 weeks, my only communication would be through letters. And he had already said that we should not expect him to write often. So, I wrote to him, nearly every day. I prayed for him every day and based on that week’s training; I prayed specific prayers that God would give him the strength to make it through the toughest 13 weeks of his life. Once again, God answered. My son graduated on time with no injuries. The best part was the extra blessing of letters from him almost every week.
