Santa gave him his first guitar. We got him lessons. Then he wanted an electric guitar too. But after a few years he and his guitar teacher chose to fire each other. He sold both guitars. But as a freshman in high school, he picked up a friend’s guitar and began to strum again. This time it was not only his idea but his solace and over time it became a passion. I’m writing this on the plane to Nashville where my husband and I will attend our son’s senior guitar recital, the final step before he graduates with a degree in music.

By his sophomore year in college, I realized that music was his calling, in the way that ministry was mine. And though I could see that making a living might be difficult as a musician, that making a life was equally important. Through music he has learned so much more than the notes and the melody, but about discipline, group dynamics, psychology, business, culture.

All this is to say that parenting, for me, has also been a profound spiritually journey, one that stretched me to grow beyond my own blind spots and to trust that the spirit often knew what I did not. At first I saw myself as my son’s teacher, then only his coach and now mostly his cheerleader. Soren Kierkegaard says that ” life must be lived forward but can only be understood backward.” With joy, I now look back and praise the Creator for all that has unfolded in his life that brought him to this moment.

Grace and peace to you,

Carla