Mother realizes: I need to ‘let go and let God’

    As my husband and I drove away, I felt sadness overcome me. It was a feeling similar to the one I felt the day I dropped off my son at pre-K.  When he was 4, I worried about whether he would make friends at school and whether he would adjust to being away from home. Now, I worried whether he had made the right choice and whether he would be able to adjust to this very different lifestyle.
    By now, you may have guessed that the reason for my sadness was that I was leaving my son at a college campus.  Except, this was no ordinary college campus; it was St. Joseph Seminary College.  
    My son, Andrew, has been discerning a call to serve God since he was in high school. At one point, he intended to register at St. Joseph right after graduating from Archbishop Rummel High. My husband and I were able to convince him to give LSU a try and postpone this decision until he was older.  However, after two years at LSU, he decided he wanted to transfer to discern whether God is calling him to become a priest.
    I will confess that I have struggled to accept my son’s decision to enter the seminary at this young age. At the age of 20, I think he should be enjoying his youth. College years are not only a time to prepare for the future, but also a time to develop social skills, experience life (in a good way) and have fun. Instead, my son has chosen to live a semi-monastic life.   
    How difficult it is to “let go and let God” when it comes to my children. For so many years, it has been my responsibility to guide my children and to make choices for them. Now, I can help them think through the choices they have to make, but I have to step back and allow them to choose for themselves. In the end, all I can do is pray that God will give them wisdom to make the right choices.  
    I, like most mothers, want what is best for my children.  It is difficult for me to embrace the idea that the sacrifices my son is making at this time would be best for him. However, this is the time when I must surrender to God’s will and trust that he, who made my son, knows what is best for him. The Lord is guiding Andrew on this journey, and my place is to pray for him and to support him.
    In this Year of Family and Faith, I urge you to pray not only for vocations to the religious life, but also for the families of those young persons who are discerning God’s call to a religious vocation.
    Judith Gutierrez can be reached at [email protected].