Kristen Grossman Prose

I clicked “share” on my Instagram feed, and the accompanying photo joined those of my friends and family who were also sending their children off to start a brand new school year. While my teens looked just like any other students setting out on the first day of school, this bittersweet day marked a significant change in my life and began a process of transition for me. After 16 years of homeschooling, the last of our children was heading off for her first-ever day of public school as a high school freshman. And, just like that, my job as a full-time home educator had come to a close.

I had been through this process before. One by one, each of our four children had launched from the safety of our nest into the bright, busy chaos of public high school. I had experienced loss each time one of our children left the camaraderie of the kitchen table where we had gathered with friends to perform science experiments. Each time one of our children left the cozy comfort of our couch, where we had seen history come to life as we read historical fiction aloud, I grieved. And then I held the hands of those still at home a little tighter and vowed anew to make the most of every precious moment I had to love, learn alongside, and explore life with the children God had entrusted to me.

Now, as I shut down my phone and turned to view my empty couch and pristine kitchen table, the grief washed over me yet again. This time, there was no little hand to create an art project with, no head bowed next to mine as I pulled out my Bible for morning devotions, no math problems to coax a reluctant pupil through. Even amid my grief, I knew how very blessed I have been. Many of my beloved fellow mamas had tearfully sent their little ones off on a big, yellow bus when their children were five years old. How very blessed I had been that my husband had provided for our family and allowed me this precious time to laugh, love, and learn with our children.

As I turned to my Bible that first day without a homeschool student at my side, I searched out God’s promises that He has more in store for me. Jeremiah 29:11 is a tried and true verse that I have clung to many times over the years, claiming for myself and my family members the promise that “‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” (NIV)

Discovering other meaningful verses encouraged me to cling to my Heavenly Father, secure in the knowledge that while life brings changes and transitions, He Himself is never changing. Isaiah 26:24 states, “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord Himself, is the Rock eternal.” (NIV) Furthermore, while the past was beautiful and good, dwelling in the past and longing for the cozy days of my children’s childhoods would deprive me of the blessings my loving Heavenly Father still has in store for me:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

Furthermore, God has had a purpose for my life—and yours—since before we even drew our first breath. Ephesians 2:10 states, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (NIV)

You, like me, may be facing a time of transition. During such times, the ground can seem to shift beneath our feet. My prayer is that we firmly plant our feet on the steady Rock that is our Heavenly Father. As we stand on this unshakeable foundation, may we add our voices to the prayer that Paul held out to the church in Ephesus. “May the eyes of [our] hearts be enlightened in order that [we] may know the hope to which He has called us, the riches of His glorious inheritance in his holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.” Ephesians 1:18-19a.

Dear Heavenly Father, times of transition can be times of grief. However, as I grieve, please help me to also hold fast to the promise that you have a beautiful plan for my life. May I cling to you as the eternal Rock in my life and embrace the riches of your glorious inheritance, as you promise in your word. Thank you for the new work you have begun in me. May I never doubt that you have a beautiful plan and purpose for my life in the days and years ahead. In Jesus’ Precious Name, Amen.