Another Milestone Day

Today our oldest adopted daughter begins her first college class. I still vividly remember her first days in our home. Nicole came to us as a foster baby. She had some serious birth problems and had been born a preemie. For eighteen months her grandmother tried to get custody of her. Every home study that Children's Services in Jefferson County (Colorado) did turned out negative. When the long and tiring process ended, Nicole was finally ready for adoption. Because of her birth problems, however, and very limited family history, she was not a very good candidate for adoption. Since we didn't want to let her go after so long, it worked well for us to keep her for good. Some of my fondest memories of her early life are the many times that I fed her her nighttime bottle and put her to sleep. I would hold her, walk with her, rock her, pray over her, agonize over her family situation and generally make a fuss over this little bundle of joy. One night as I agonized over the fact that she would never know who her father was, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, "you are her father. Just like your heavenly Father adopted you as a son into His family, you have become Nicole's father."

A couple of hours ago I was an overly protective father, making sure she knew the building and room number for her class, made sure she had her textbook, made sure she had her paid tuition receipt to get her college ID and told her which license number to put down for a parking pass. She could have done all of that for herself, but sometimes I go back and forth between 18 years ago and now, and I forget she is a grown up young lady. I have resisted the temptation to text her and find out if every thing's going okay. For now, Nicole is going to live at home and commute to school. For her, and me, that is a good decision. I have always been a basket case when our kids have moved out.

Kathy and I are so proud of her. We know Nicole will do well in college. We're praying that God will help her figure out what He wants her to do, and how best to prepare for it. For today, I'll try and not look out the front window too often. I don't want her to catch me waiting for her and think that I'm not giving her enough space. She is, however, going to tell her mother and I all about her first day...