10/29/2022
Had a great time visiting Emily @CalPolySLO family weekend last weekend:) She is doing fantastic adjusting to college life and has 2 FUN roommates that were an answer to our prayers:) She also joined a thrifting club & a weight lifting club & is looking hot đĽ I love you & miss you Em but so happy you are having fun & you got a jobđ
On the other hand, I gotta say it was kinda scary picking her up & dropping her off at her dorm with the Paul Flores guilty verdict coming in just a few days before we arrived. He was found guilty for murdering Kristen Smart 26 years ago at a dorm room near Emilyâs. My fear was heightened with the Halloween fog in the air & Emily living in the dorm where Kristen was living the time of the murder:( When we were driving home I had to fight my fears with prayer for protection over her. It brought me back to my prayers 5½ weeks prior at around 4 am September 15th which was the day after we first dropped her off at Cal Poly.
You see my husband and I did a one day turn around trip on September 14th to drive her up, move her stuff in, say our goodbyes and drive home to get back to our other kids & obligations.
The next morning I woke up around 4am graugy & out of it from a long day before & looked at the red alarm light to see if Emily had turned the alarm on the night before when she got home from work. I looked and realized the alarm was on but that she was moved out & wasnât gonna be coming home from work anymore. I didnât have to check on her anymore? Gulp. My human-mother-mind just went to panic thinkingâŚ..who is gonna be watching after her and keeping her safe now?
But then I had the most humbling, peaceful and grateful thought. Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, was the one who had been protecting her the last 19 years, not me. Psalm 36:7-8 It wasnât me checking Find My iPhone when she began driving that was keeping her safe or texting her to see where she was. I mean, Iâve read this in the Bible and I believed it but I was obviously struggling to really let Jesus take the wheel. It wasnât my job to check all the time. In fact, looking back, checking was probably setting my mind on the wrong things and then taking away from my relationship with Jesus, Emily & everyone else. It was my job to love, discipline & educate her. It wasnât my job to try and control her safety. Jesus had her the whole time and still has her! As a mom of 4 it is hard to tell sometimes when my kids need protection since the kids are constantly developing, growing & changing. But, at this point in Emily’s young adulthood, I just need to sit back and enjoy watching her grow into an incredible young lady! My heart is fullâ¤ď¸ Thank you Jesus for helping protect Emily even when I did not realize it. Please continue to bless her to do your will.