Hot Pursuit

With high school graduation wrapping up a few weeks ago, it’s now time for my family to focus on getting another teenager off to college in less than two months.
That can be a scary proposition, especially when it comes to church and associated faith moments. 
Last week my son, Caleb, and I made a trip into the neighboring cheese state to attend college orientation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It brought back many memories of my college days. I also thought about how times were so much different 25 years ago in our world when I enjoyed campus life.
I must admit I worry about my son and how college life will treat him. He has always been a great kid, but that doesn’t erase a parents’ concern about the well-being of a child.
As we were making our way around the student center one afternoon, my son abruptly stopped and darted up to a booth. I noticed the same table with three people standing by it, but paid no attention to what they were doing. As I circled back, I was pleasantly surprised at what I found. What transpired in the next few moments clearly defined to me what my son has taken away from his past 18 years of life. 
He signed up for a campus faith club. With no questions asked and hardly any interaction with those providing the information, Caleb immediately signed his name and phone number indicating his interest in joining this fall. All in front of his father. And with no coaching or coaxing, I might add. I didn’t even say a word.
Caleb had a rough time in high school when he lost a close friend and classmate in a car crash. He took one of his life’s darkest moments and turned it into something positive. Among what he did included strong membership in the group Fellowship of Christian Athletes. 
Just a few months ago the two of us went through a College 101 Bible class offered by our church. One of the disturbing themes shared with us is how teenagers fall away from church following high school. It’s estimated that between 65 and 94 percent of high school students stop attending church after they graduate. As a parent, that’s the most horrifying statistic in the world. 
With what is happening in our world today as far as terrible violence, even in sacred church settings, the Catholic church in shambles and historic decisions affecting our lives and how life can be lived, there is a need for church and God more so than ever before. This definitely is not a time for teens, or anybody for that matter, to stray away from church. 
Sometimes, as a parent, I’m left wondering if I connected with my children. But after what happened last week at college, there is no doubt in my mind that my son’s faith is rock solid. 
Regardless, I felt as if there has been some divine intervention from above. I walked away from the campus feeling like we had been on the receiving end of a small miracle from God. I truly feel blessed to have a child willing to profess his faith in college when it may not be the most popular thing to do.
We all need to take a stand and encourage our children to continue their faith even as they head out on their own. It’s important to keep Christ as the center of our lives no matter how old you are. 
Now it’s going to be easier for me to let go of my son knowing that he’s in hot pursuit of maintaining a strong Christian faith, even away from dad and at college.