A New School, A Walk in the Dark

We journey with our children. We walk with them as they face whatever it is God places in front of them.  This morning will be another step in the journey.


Our 14 year old son is switching schools next year. He is leaving our public high school, which is a five-minute walk from our home, to attend a boys' Catholic high school about six miles away. He's leaving for what he calls "a plethora of reasons" --- academic, spiritual and social. I respect his privacy so I am not going to detail all those reasons. But the idea and the decision was his and, as content as he was as a high school freshman, he is embracing his new future with his usual enthusiasm.


Last night we spent the evening filling out forms - the admissions agreement, an athletic procedural agreement, the concussion acknowledgement forms, the application for private school transportation, the tuition/fee agreement and so on. Today he and I drive over to hand over the forms and talk with school officials about his course selections for next year.

There will be a Scripture class and uniforms to buy and a strict dress and conduct code. He's all in. Neither my husband nor his brother has ever attended a Catholic school so this is going to be interesting.

We all hope, of course, the new school will be a better place for him to grow as a learner and as a young man and follower of Christ. We hope his new teachers and administrators and classmates will understand and grow to care about our son, with all his charms and challenges. We hope they see and honor the whole young man.

We hope and we pray.

"If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark." 
-St. John of the Cross