College and Corona

So, students, remember the times you heard your parents say things like, “I had to walk to school uphill both ways. In the snow.” Or perhaps you’ve heard them reminisce with pride that, “There were no iPhones in my day. We just had to come up with creative ways to be entertained.” Yes, well, no longer can my generation hold over you all the things we did that were more difficult…because Corona.

You will one day have the opportunity to say to a child who is whining because of summer ending and school drawing near: “When I was younger, I lived through a world-wide pandemic which meant school happening at home, on a computer, without friends, and with parents. It meant quarantining for long periods of time, wearing masks in public, and when it came time to starting school again, there were pages of protocols in place to even attend, including distancing from friends. Our hands were clean, though. There was that.” My generation’s bragging privileges are already out the window, friends. You have won those rights from here on out.

As I read through the numerous protocols for the college my daughter plans to attend this fall, I had two thoughts: first, I’m incredibly grateful that for now she can still plan to attend college, and second, I’m incredibly sad that for now her college experience will be surrounded with protocols and limitations because of the strange times in which we live. I longed for the start of college to be different for her, less challenging, and more “normal.”

While out for a jog, I was mentally spilling over the pandemic side-effects for my new college student. It was hot, so I decidedly shortened my run, and on the way back, my mind wandered to the days of marathon training. I don’t run races anymore, but the one and only marathon I did run was exhilarating. I thought back to the summer I spent preparing for the race; I’d pound out the miles with running buddies, and during the long hours, we’d solve all the world’s problems. A friend asked at one point if I was enjoying the preparation. My answer was pretty simple and straightforward: “No.” I mean, does one enjoy running twenty miles? Some might. I didn’t, but I did enjoy the challenge. I enjoyed making lasting memories, like finishing a twenty-mile run just ahead of a parade. I enjoyed talking with friends (though in my winded state, I did quite a bit more listening), and I enjoyed the fact that the training gave me the ability to physically run 26.2 miles.

That’s when it hit me. My longing for normalcy is really, ultimately, a longing to be free from the burdens brought on by Covid. And yet, when I look back on my life, almost every great experience came to fruition through a great challenge. During my training, I would not pray for the Lord to remove the hills but for Him to give me strength to run them. My prayer of late has been for the Lord to remove the impending challenges so that our students can return to normalcy, but perhaps my prayer should be for the Lord to sustain our students, to give them strength to run the hills and the motivation to embrace the challenge.

The Lord has purpose in every trial, and there is nothing random in the life of a believer. Each path is formed to mold, shape and grow us to be more like Christ. While the challenges we face may be big, God is bigger. He is a God of might and power – He spoke the world into being. As soon as we forget that God is greater than any difficulty we face, we begin despairing over the challenges before us. There were so many times I wanted to throw in the towel during marathon training, and there were times when the runs were just, plain plodding. Had I quit, though, I would not have experienced the delight that came from completing such a fete. Our desire as parents shouldn’t be for the Lord to take away the difficult twists and turns, but for our kids to have courage in the face of them knowing that God is leading, and He is using these trials to strengthen their faith in Him. It’s in the vessel of difficulty that we learn to really trust God.

Amy Carmichael once said, “I think one of the Devil’s favorite devices is to try to make us dwell on the hardness of things in general, and to make us feel as if they would always go on like this. But they will not. They are shadows that will pass.” Much like the fleeting memory of aches and pains during training, the hardship that our students are facing because of the myriad of unknowns, and the challenge set before them to attend school in a very different way, are but shadows that will pass. In dwelling on the hardness, we lose sight of the fact that God’s work in and through these encounters is often greater than we could ever imagine.  

When she heads off and starts a new chapter in a few short weeks, I’ll miss my daughter more than I can adequately express, but I’m excited to see her story unfold as she makes memories, builds relationships, and is spiritually strengthened in the midst of the challenges.

I offer this prayer for my oldest and for all the other students as they run the unique race that the Lord has set before them:

Heavenly Father,

We commit our children to you knowing that you love them more than we ever could. We ask that you provide for them wisdom, guidance, and protection, and above all, we pray that you would mold these students to be more like Christ. Bend their wills toward yours as they wrestle through the unknown. Cause them to fully and completely trust you when plans are shifted and changed, and strengthen their mind, body and spirit when they grow weary in the race. Help these students to persevere through difficulty and give them joy in their endeavors. We trust that you are uniquely working in and through this generation; give us a spirit of anticipation as we watch and see what great things will come from great challenges.

Amen