An emptying nest

A letter to my son + some thoughts on freedom & Christian education

Gentle reader,

I’m writing today’s piece as a letter to my son, who has just left our nest. (Yes, I cried.) The letter’s a little sappy (forgive me), but it also shares some of my heartfelt feelings about educating Christians.

Don’t forget to sign up for Fall’s upcoming BOOK CLUB discussion of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel, Purple Hibiscus.

Dear son,

I know you know it’s hard for me to see you go, but I’m also so excited for you.

For real.

I think you’re going to love college: the freedom, the intellectual discoveries, the sheer social possibilities, which were exciting even for me, all those years ago, though I’m an introvert and you most certainly are not.

Your older sister assumed she’d go to a Christian college, and she had a great experience at the one she chose, but something happened between her college choice and yours. You can call the thing that happened whatever you want to call it: “the 2016 election” or “pandemic and polarization” or “your world fell apart.”

And you knew you wouldn’t go to a Christian college. This news was not unmixed, for me, having devoted most of my adult life to the project of Christian liberal arts education.

But, also, I understood.

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