When Rocks Leak

Last week I returned to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia where I graduated with my Bachelor of Science degree in Pastoral Ministries with a Greek minor back in 1987. This time I was dropping my daughter off for her freshman year at Liberty. It was hard to wrap my mind around the fact that it was exactly 25 years earlier that my parents dropped me off at Liberty for my first year of college. 25 years have passed since then…a quarter of a century. Below are some thoughts as I reflect back on last week:

There is no doubt in my mind that Liberty is the most exciting Christian University in America. I am so incredibly glad that my daughter will get to experience it. I just wish she was going to be able to experience Dr Falwell like I was able to when I was there.

Saying good-bye to your daughter and knowing she is not going home with you is a feeling that cannot be explained unless you’ve been there. Watching her walk up that hill away from us to her dorm after saying our farewell was one of the hardest moments of my life while at the same time being one of the most incredibly satisfying moments of my life all at the same time.

It’s weird to think that two years from now we will be dropping both of our kids off at college at the same time and even weirder to think that we will have to find a way to pay for them both at the same time as well.

I was amazed at how many of the professors were still teaching that I had 20-25 years ago when I was a student.

It was very meaningful for me to visit Dr Falwell’s memorial. I am still astonished when I think about how much his ministry shaped my life. I would not be where I am today or married to who I am today had it not been for Dr Falwell’s life, vision and ministry.

The only thing that seems more expensive than college education is how much it costs to get a female college freshman set up in her dorm room.

As predicted, I was a rock in saying good-bye to my daughter. I just didn’t realize how much water leaks from a rock. We had prayer with Joy, her two roommates (Kara and Lauren...pictured above with Joy) and Lauren’s parents in their dorm room our final night before leaving. Since I am a pastor, I got called on to pray. A lot of water leaked from this rock as I prayed. That caused the mom’s to do the same thing. It really was a special time though. The parents of Joy’s roommates are wonderful. We all gelled real well. It was obvious that those three girls would become very good friends and that they would each end up with three sets of parents over at least their freshman year.

I realize that my relationship with Joy will now change (in a good way) forever. I am excited to move into this new phase of fatherhood. Whatever happens, I’ll be a rock.