Braggin' a Bit 'Bout my Boy

It's official as of today, so I'm going to use my blog as a bit of a brag book for a moment. My eldest son, Zachary, received a letter in the mail today from the President of Sam Houston State University, announcing that Zach will be provided "full tuition and fees throughout [his] academic career" at SHSU. This in recognition of his academic "accomplishments and potential," and especially in view of his status as a National Merit Finalist.

Two weeks ago, we were all still wondering where the money was going to come from to pay for Zach's college education. He had already received some nice scholarships, but so far as we knew and could tell they were a drop in the bucket up against the out-of-state tuition that he would presumably be charged at Sam Houston. Knowing that things have worked out pretty well for my daughter DoRena at I.U. in Bloomington, I was confident that funds would be available to Zach from one source or another, but feared that would include a sizeable student loan. Since he is planning, at this point, to go on from college to the seminary, I was loathe for him to take on a debt load already in his undergraduate years. I'm going to be paying off my own seminary loans forever, it seems, and I would hope that my son won't find himself in the same boat down the road.

Well, the Lord already had it all worked out, and while we were still praying He had already answered. In the course of the past two weeks, scholarships that we didn't even know about were awarded to our Zach, such that his college education will now be covered. My wife and I would still suggest that Sam Houston is getting the better end of the deal, as our son is worth every penny of it. But the truth of the matter is that we are very grateful, and we do not take such divine providence for granted. We are worthy of none of those things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that our Father in heaven would give them all to us by grace, for Jesus' sake. And surely He does; this is most certainly true. Jesus is always His "Yes!" and "Amen!"

Let it not go without saying that I am proud of my son. I'm proud of his intelligence, of his disciplined and conscientious study habits, and of the knowledge he continues to gain. I'm proud of his accomplishments, and of the goals that he has set for himself. Along with all of that, I am especially proud of his maturity, of his theological understanding and insight, of his love for the Gospel, and of his commitment to the Word of God as his highest priority. Whether he does go on to seminary or not, he will be a faithful servant of Christ and of his Church, bringing his considerable talents and gifts to bear within whatever stations in life he is given.