Faith for College

My middle child will be a senior in high school next year. We won’t discuss the many emotions wrapped up in that statement. And as if that’s not bad enough, my youngest child will be in 9th grade. <Appalled.> They just keep getting older, and therefore, so do I. It’s offensive, really.

But today I’m actually here to discuss the hopes and dreams of my beautiful, healthy, nearly grown children, and the challenges of having faith for finances.

Parents get me. I know they do.

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:19

I began working at a small university almost four years ago. When I reach my fourth anniversary at this beautiful institution in September of this year, my children will become eligible to receive 100% tuition remission! After years of praying for the Lord to help us send our kids to college, we were ecstatic to learn of this benefit!

But how many of us know that God works in mysterious ways? Yes, He does…

My job was a God-send. After 16 years as a stay-home mom, and 5 years working as a full-time volunteer for our former church, landing this amazing job was like walking through an open door and achieving a dream that I had nearly forgotten all about.

I had 5 years experience working at a university before I had my children. My desire at that time was to be an Academic Advisor, and I completed my Master’s Degree in Adult Education, with honors, when I was 6 months pregnant with our first child. It took me more than 16 years to put that degree to good use, but now my former dream has been fulfilled, and I am more grateful than words can say!

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

2 Corinthians 9:8

As I said in the beginning, my middle son is about to be a senior. He already has his sights set on a future college major, future college opportunities… and a specific future college, which does not happen to be the one at which I currently work. 

Um… God, what is this?

If you knew my child at all, you would know that he’s pretty amazing. He started on the high school drumline as a freshman, started in the varsity choir as a freshman, he was in All-State Choir three years in a row, and he’s working on making it into All-State Band for the third time, as well. He plays piano by ear and writes his own music, and he’s a pretty darn good skateboarder.

I know I’m his mom, and moms are biased, but I believe my son has greatness stored up that is still just begging to get out… so I want him to have an incredible opportunity that is beyond what we can provide. And apparently, so does he.

There is MUCH he could learn at my small, private university. The music program is no slouch. It’s just tiny. And playing in a marching band, or singing in a choir, with hundreds of other talented kids sounds so much better to him than a band or choir that is only 30 members strong.

So here we go… marching to a beat we were not expecting, but believing we can learn the tune.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

We are not a wealthy family. We chose to live on a single income for many years so we could homeschool our kids when they were little. We make a more than sufficient, but still modest income, so there’s not a lot of extra college money laying around! 

We believed my employer would be the answer to our prayers about our kids and college, and it still may be! However, our wonderful older son, who is also amazing, is a perfect fit for technical school, which he is attending for free because of how our high schools work. Whether he will want go to college when that program has been completed, or go straight into the workforce, is yet to be seen.

Our beautiful and talented daughter is still four years away from graduation, and only God knows what will be needed for her at that time.

All we know is that our middle child has dreams that it seems we physically cannot meet… (which is actually kind of exciting to my adventuresome heart.)

So we pray… 

We don’t see how it will work with our eyes. He has a great opportunity for tuition scholarships through his accomplishments in music, and that is amazing in itself! But tuition is only part of the overall college expense… and the rest of the amount is still pretty hefty.

So what do we do?  We pray… 

We have taken the step of scheduling a summer campus visit at my son’s dream college, and scheduled an appointment with the School of Music. If we’re going to ask God to meet this desire for our son, and if our son has ever heard us say that we believe God can work miracles, then we need to make sure we are getting ourselves in gear, walking in faith, and turning our words into actions!

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

James 2:17-18

I do fully believe that, even though we cannot see how God will work it out, He can and He will if that is the direction my son is meant to go (Hebrews 11:1). He has been given big amazing gifts for a reason, and I will not hold him back if the Lord has a plan for his success.

So we pray, we move forward, we take actions of faith. 

We will continue to move in the direction of our dreams and wait for God to either open or close the door. We’re not going to force it to happen… that’s not God’s way!  He leads and we simply follow.  

We can take this dream and desire as being “a possibility” of God’s direction (Psalm 37:4).  If we get all the way through Admissions, Financial Aid, and Scholarship applications and then discover that the door is closed, we might be heartbroken, but we will not lose anything. However, if we act in fear and never try at all, we have closed the door on our own dreams, and canceled the possibility of God moving on our behalf.

This is a sad reality for many who have had their dreams shattered in the past and just can’t muster up the courage to step out again. But God desires to meet them in that pain and help them begin to move forward again toward their dreams. It’s never too late to learn how to trust God all over again. He makes the end better than the beginning, and He gives us peace where we have none (Haggai 2:9).

“But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”

Hebrews 10:39

We’re not even close to being perfect, but we’re choosing to stand on God’s Word and believing that His promises are true. And we’re allowing that “believing” to direct our actions. It’s as simple as that.

Is this something that might be useful in your own life? Are you challenged to believe God in an area, or in a few areas?  Today, just as I have shared some of the Bible verses we are standing on in faith, make your own list of scriptures that apply to your particular situation.  Use these to make a strong platform on which you can stand. Pray and ask God to help you make these scriptures a place of protection you can run to… and begin to move in faith, knowing that God can be trusted

We’re praying for you, and we ask that you pray for us. God will meet our every need according to His riches in Christ Jesus.

God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?

Numbers 23:19