Sunday, September 26, 2010

Matt and KSU

So we got some pretty exciting news around here not to long ago!

Last January at a thing we call the "No Agenda Retreat" I was getting to know one of the other High School Chaperon moms. We were appreciating the friendship our sons were developing and got onto the topic of colleges.

Her son is a year older than Matt. She mentioned that her son, Wes, was planning to go to Kansas State and mostly because of their Army ROTC program. My reaction was really?! I went on to tell her that I was the first generation to abandon ship on KSU. Many of my relatives graduated from Kansas State. I remember thinking wouldn't it be funny if Matt got interested in KSU because of a friend. There was a part of me that was a little sad that KSU wasn't going to be the right school for me when I was 17 years old.

Well one conversation leads to another and Matt just got his acceptance letter to Kansas State University a couple of weeks ago!

It is funny to me what God uses to prepare you for what is coming. Shortly after we moved back to Texas, Greensburg, KS was wiped out by a huge tornado. I watched interviews of the people from the community and surrounding communities. It brought back many great memories. Memories of growing up with salt of the earth, heart of gold type people that Kansas has a reputation for having. I was very sentimental about it in a way that I had not been for a long time. I remember watching as many new stories as I could find on the internet. Then a year or two later, I caught on the Planet Green channel that they were producing a weekly documentary on the rebuilding of Greensburg as a "green community". From time to time they brought in different college teams from KSU and KU to compete on projects etc. I was impressed by the young adults featured in those stories. Interesting...

Some people in Texas struggle to understand why we would be so excited that Matt is headed off to Manhattan, KS to go to school. That's okay. It has only made it more obvious to me what a God thing this whole interest by Matt in KSU has been. It is a great fit for Matt is so many wonderful ways. It is sad to say but true that there were times when I was tempted to think Matt's future was doomed if he wasn't in the top 8% of his class. That kind of thinking would have been a complete waste of time and energy. By the grace of God, we largely avoided it.

We and other members of Matt's family have prayed consistently from the time he was 3 years old for his education. Without a doubt we have seen God direct us every year. When all is said and done we will have done private school, homeschooling and public school. I am happy to give God all the credit for showing us what, where, when and with whom. I certainly was not smart enough to figure it out on my own!

2 comments:

Heidi Day said...

We are praying for our daughter. So many decisions and so much information...I'm happy to see your story unfold. It gives me hope.

Robyn Rochelle E. said...

WAHOOOO!!!! Kansas State!!! My mother met my dad at KU and I have to admit most of my mom's family went to/are going to KSU. I miss Kansas in the summer and Kansas at Christmas time. There was a sense of home and acceptance there that I often missed in other states. My moms wheat crop keeps me informed about the area. I'm happy Matt is headed there!!!!!