This month, People to People asked one of our staff members, Richard Peifer, to share his reflections and those of his wife, Lois, as their last child graduates from high school and prepares to leave for college this fall.

I find myself crying a little more these days. Not big cries. Those will come later. It’s mostly just private moments with a lump in my throat and tears welling up when the realization hits me that he’s leaving – my “baby boy” (who is almost as tall as I am, and faster, and stronger) is about to head off to college.

It’s not that I didn’t feel this way when my daughter left five years ago. But, somehow, it is different this time. He’s my son, and we share things that I didn’t share with her. Mostly, though, it’s because he’ll be the last to leave home. (more…)

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power…to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3;17-18 NIV

I find God often allows me to see a truth in His Word, and then He shows me in a real-life situation what it means. I went through an incident with my daughter that became one of the most vivid learning experiences of my life. That day, I witnessed God’s love and forgiveness worked out in my life in a very practical way. (more…)