Balancing family and career

If you’re like most people, finding and keeping balance in life can be an ongoing struggle. Click to read this piece I wrote for FamilyLife Ministries.

College move-in day: a dad’s heartfelt journey of letting go

This is the day we’ve spent the last 18 years preparing for. It’s the day we move my son, Jackson, in at the college of his choice — the University of Oklahoma. Which brings me to a rather pressing question: If I’ve known for so long that this day was coming, why do I feel so surprised by it all?

I mean, I’m a licensed counselor, so it couldn’t be denial . . . could it?

We just spent an entire school year checking off milestones to this very day. And while my wife has struggled with waves of sadness that whole time, I’ve been the tough one who has always reminded her, “This is what we’ve been planning for. There’d be something wrong if he didn’t grow up.”

I was steadfast. Consistent. Unwavering.

Why then did I just now notice that the hourglass was flipped, and the few grains of sand that remain are making their way through the neck with ever-increasing speed?