It was the summer before my oldest started grade 10. We lived in a semi-remote part of the island, so we homeschooled. Our son wanted to play soccer for the Christian school on the other side of the island. He also wanted to dorm. My husband and I were educators and had said early on that we would not put our kids in the dorm. That summer though, we agreed that he could live with a family friend and join the soccer team during the fall season.

Several times that summer I came across verses on trusting the Lord. I began to write questions down in my journal.

Did I trust God?

Did I trust God with my life?

Did I trust God with my children?

I did, but I was still not comfortable with sending him to the dorm.

Then at the end of the summer a question came that poked me hard.

“Have you asked Me what I want for your son?”

I remember I dropped my pen and spoke out loud. “Nope and I don’t want to ask because I’m afraid of what You will say.”

I left it right there and picked up the teacher’s edition to finish planning.

That fall we traveled to the other side of the island to watch him play. I caught a glimpse of him eating lunch and laughing with his friends.

I felt like the toddler who just needed to pick up the three blocks before she could have ice-cream. It was a simple task, but so hard. A battle of the wills.

This too was simple. I just had to lay down my own desires and demands and trust that God was going to take care of him (and me).

Obedience requires trust. Trust requires us to lay down our desires, our wills, and even our control. It is not easy, but as the next verse says, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:6).

The next spring we filled out the application forms for him to attend the boarding school. His last two years of high school were spent on that campus. It was hard to drive away, but I also had a peace knowing that this was the path that God had our son on.