I don’t know if I should be happy or sad.

School starts this week, which means my children will no longer be lingering around the house all day, making noise, messes, and bringing a sense of chaos.  Most years, when September comes, I am ready for them to go back to school. This year, even though part of me has been craving the structure that school provides, I must admit I am feeling a little sad.  Julia is a senior this year, and will head off to college in a year.  I really can’t believe how fast time flies and it’s hard to imagine her not being in our home next fall.  She plans on going away to college (still undecided), so Steve and I will launch her into life.  Is she ready to fly?

I know that the teen years can be tough on parents. Granted, there are some tough days in the Jones home with all the emotions in the house. Moods can change on a dime with the unpredictable element of the emotional teenage girl, The fights are awesome, sometimes with the fury of a  4^th of July firework display, and the older they get, the more capable they are  of having intelligent arguments.

Yet, in all this chaos of family and the strong personalities of the Jones household, through the inherited sin nature, as well as the inherited good, I see something beautiful in process.  I see God molding their lives in ways I never imagined.  Opportunities are rising for my children that are requiring much discernment and prayer, and all together (all five of us), we are thinking through these opportunities and discussing the impact of decisions.   I see my girls taking their choices very seriously.  I see them stepping into uncharted territories, and using their limited lifetime of knowledge, to launch into the future.  Their futures look exciting, and the new school year is here.

However, I am a little sad. I will one day miss this chaos.  The older they get, the quieter our house is, which seems to be a foreshadowing of the future. Steve and I have more time together, which is great, but less time with them. Julia is out and about much more, driving from one event to another. Grace and Isabel are entering that highly social time of their teenage years, leaving the two of us to stare at each other wondering where the time went.

They are good girls.  I am proud of them.  I see depth of character and goodness in them all. But most important, I see them embracing the grace of God, and the passion to live a life fueled by the Holy Spirit and the power of the Almighty God.  I trust He has their future in His hands.

This school year begins the end of something. The end of a little girl under our roof.  I have one year now to help detail her heart, and imprint a mother’s love into her life.  Here we go!

Senior Pictures by Keely Marie Scott