Just Stand By

"Wait a minute...what?"

That was my incredibly intelligent response when Mike told me that my middle kid did not get accepted into nursing school at her university.  

And then my head started reeling at the exact time that my heart broke for her.

Yes, she's a 4.0. Yes, she's articulate. Yes, she's worked with elderly, done volunteer hours, worked a mission trip, participated in extracurriculars, gone to mock interviews, done everything under her power she could to have a full application...and yet... she got denied. 

Mike and I suddenly had to figure out how to parent through this. This is new territory for us.
And trust me, every single fiber of my being wanted to fix it, call someone, figure out what they missed, ask what went sideways during this 8-week process.  

But I can't.

She's an adult... even if the school would talk to the mom (they won't....), it isn't my program or my graders or my class load or my major. It's hers. All I can do is stand by.

I can stand by
   -as her friends text her "I am praying for you! We will do this next time!!"
   -as her best friend comes over just to rub her arm and offer a kind touch.
   -as her boyfriend repeatedly reminds her "Jesus loves you and so do I."
   -as she looks at me, tears spilling, wondering how to push through this.

Mike, who has a never-dimming hope in life, said to her, "Well, Gracie, it could be worse."  And yes, it absolutely 1000000% could be worse....this is a speed bump, a wrong turn, a detour. But that doesn't make it any easier to feel rejected and deflected from a dream you've held and prayed for.


Before I went to bed last night, after a tear-filled evening, I wrote out this verse, and left it on her pillow, because WE KNOW.  Down to the depths of our hearts, WE KNOW that the Lord has plans for her.  

We don't need to know the PLAN because we know the LORD.  We just need to trust in the Lord and let Him reveal His plan in His perfect timing. We just need to stand by. He's here. He's working this. He's using this for GOOD - because he SAID HE WOULD.

Goose will push through this, starting when she wakes up, because in our house we have always said, "The sun WILL shine tomorrow, and you WILL get out of bed, and you WILL face it head on."  She is surrounded by so many Christian friends (seriously..I am positive I didn't text my high school friends Bible verses when they were sad....) who will remind her that she IS a child of the King.

And Mike and I  will continue to stand by.
We will pray for her and with her, pass the tissue and hug her tightly when she needs it, and be the constant voice that God created her for something bigger than this moment. When she feels that she can't, we will be standing there to tell her, yes, she can. And she will.

So, stand by. Because there is still more to this story that God hasn't told us just yet.


xo,
A sad but resilient mama






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