Last night I went to my daughter’s final “meet the teacher night”. She is a senior in high school and this is her final semester. I noticed several things of interest. First, there are far fewer parents at this night in second semester than in the first. People seem to take the beginning of school with much more of a serious tone.

Second, I saw next to no one that I knew. Granted this one is connected to the first point, however, even in previous years I saw more parents that I knew. It is a sign of parents and kids making a transition from high school to college, or at least post-secondary endeavors.

Third, I was expecting to feel relief but instead I felt a real sense of sadness. The sadness came from two directions. The first sadness came from bumping into two of my daughter’s class mates, with whom she no longer maintains contact. She has known them since kindergarten. They both had pretty clear ideas of what came next. With my daughter, the community college is her direction. There is nothing wrong with that choice. It is one of the best community colleges in the nation. Yet, I see those class mates moving in the “expected” direction and our daughter’s path will be somewhat different. Again, there is nothing wrong with her path. I just feel sadness for whatever reason.

The second reason for my sadness of last night is that I will never have another ‘meet the teacher night” for my daughter. We have been doing this ritual since our daughter entered kindergarten and we had to sit in very small chairs as we heard the teacher tell us about what to expect in the coming year. I feel sadness because something of real importance will no longer be in my life. That chapter of that book is now finished.

Sadness has also come from the reality that other lasts are on the way in the next few months. This will culminate in the graduation commencement for my daughter from high school. It is the reality that the end of a large part of my life is coming. It is a part of my life which was not my first choice but was God’s choice for me.

There has been sadness associated with this ending time but I can now see the seeds of next beginning for me and my family. I want what is next to be made known and at the same time I desire to be fully aware of the last of what is now passing away. I want to be fully present in all areas of my life so that sadness is fleeting but purpose is growing. I desire to know the fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ in all of His fullness.