Scared about going to college? Moving away to college can generate fear in our minds. There are so many unknowns about what the next chapter will hold! Each new semester, teachers meet new students and the unknowns of the personalities represented by each seat can trigger some anxiousness, too. Jumping into something new simply doesn’t give us all the information and we move into the new with some faith.

That one time we literally wandered off path.

One Saturday afternoon, Nick and I drove to see our families. On our way, we decided to try a different route for the sake of adventure and new views. We crossed over the bridge and made the first turn, only to later encounter a road closed sign. Not sort of closed, but really closed – no available road, closed. Nick gets out the handy dandy map app and finds us a road to stay close to on course. 

Next, we turn left, then make a right. We immediately know this road did not share our definition of “road.” The road consisted of one lane and gravel but it it had a road number like a state road and if it kept us going in the right direction, great! The road narrowed and narrowed and narrowed. The gravel slowly became more washed out four wheeler trail than road. Out the driver window, you could reach out and touch a steep dirt wall and out the passenger side, you could look down the edge of a sharp drop off. At one point, I turned the wheels of my 2002 Ford Mustang towards the wall as we slid down a hill, trying to avoid the drop off.

It wasn’t a 40 mile road, we weren’t even on this service road for 40 minutes, but it felt like a lifetime. I didn’t know how far we had gone, I didn’t know if we would make it through the deteriorating conditions of the road, I didn’t think my Mustang would live to the end, I didn’t know when we would find the end of the road – if we were close or far. 

As a result, I was a stressed nugget. Finally, we made it to blacktop and it never felt sweeter to drive on the smooth surface. Tension released from my neck, shoulders, back, and legs in one deep sigh. Even though we had not arrived at our destination yet but it felt as good to just be back in normal conditions. Then the check engine light came on. Freedom didn’t come without wounds.

In the first week of this study, we learned the number 40 indicates being tested. That drive tested my driving skills, patience (which didn’t go well), focus ( never have and never will again focus on a road so much), and bank account ($150 sensor replaced) all in 20 minutes on a Saturday afternoon.

God allows our wandering for moments or years in order for us to choose to be closer to him. And thankfully, no matter how far we wander He is the father who runs to meet us in the driveway.

Scared of college, me too.

When I left for college, I remember being fiercely ready to leave the nest. I would never admit or even consider myself “scared of college.” Until it came time for the nest to drive away and go back home. As my parents and boyfriend (now husband) began the process of awkwardly hovering in the parking lot for them to inevitably leave – I wept. Distance seemed so dangerous to relationships and an clear signal of pending change. I would miss out on so much and that rooted my fear of college. But I would experience so much in return. Seeing them on weekends gave me the same feeling I get when reading about the father and prodigal son – running to meet each other in the driveway.

Scared of the College Classroom

So often in education we (teachers) will talk about just how far gone our students are or how distant our classrooms feel. I wonder, what are we waiting for or are we running down the driveway? If we continue to wait for the structure of education to change or the brokenness of our communities to heal…we are going to be waiting for a long time. This summer my heart and mind have been consumed by that idea – am I running to meet them? Am I leaning towards them or disconnecting for fear of rejection or failure?

The start of each school year, I find myself anxious and scared about the students who will walk into my classroom. Will our personalities clash or create? Will (or better yet, how) I mess up? Can I be enough for my students? Consequently, we can focus so much on our own fear of college, we forget to meet our students “in the driveway” – running to meet them will give you such confidence. In this case, teachers, how do you practically demonstrate a “run to meet you in the driveway” kind of care?

Seamless Week 4 Bullet Points:

• God wants us to be monotheistic, worshiping one God.
• The world looks at external, God looks at the heart.
• David (man after God’s own heart) rejects Saul’s armor, he hasn’t tested them.
• David wrote a good chunk of the book of Psalms.
• Question to ask, who am I that you’ve brought me this far? 2 Samuel 7:18
• Sin has consequences – Saul, David, Solomon (prays for wisdom)
• David has an affair with Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11; Solomon (David’s son) turns from god in 1 Kings 11
• United Kingdom under Saul, David and Solomon; however, because of Solomon’s sin, God allows a split.
• Northern Kingdom = 10 tribes = called Israel
• Southern Kingdom = Judah and Benjamin = called Judah
• North/Israel – taken by Assyrians
• South/Judah – taken by Babylonians; Solomon’s temple as destroyed by Babylonians in 586 B.C.
• 70 years of exile
• Daniel – promoted to ruler over Babylon, brings along friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendego
• 400 years of waiting between Malachi 3:1 and the birth of Jesus; 400 years of silence

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