So...we took Brandon down to Hampton this weekend because he's in this 5 week Pre-College Prep Program. He's settled in and having a good time, thank the Lord. It's not that he wouldn't it's just hard to explain how we were feeling.
Brandon is like everyone's baby. He's the child that everyone expects to stay in high school for the rest of his life. Not saying that he's a bad student or anything to that extent but you just never expect him to grow up, and not this fast. I must confess, i was extremely worried about B going to college. He's not the most responsible and tends to forget things. I'm guessing that's typical 18 year old boy behavior. My mother was getting extremely frustrated with Hampton because of the lack of clarity and therefore the abundance of confusion. We even thought about checking out one of the branch campuses of Penn State for him. Well, Friday rolled in and we had to take him down. We got down there, checked him in, and went to find his dorm. Great. Smooth sailing. His dorm isn't the best but that's not what this entry is about so I'll spare the gory details. We went to a mandatory meeting, went out to dinner, etc. He stayed with us the first night. Saturday was pretty similar but I really don't feel like bustin' out all those details. SO on to Sunday. Brandon's dorm director is a man named Elder Raymond Cullen. When Mommy and I first met him on that Friday night, we were waiting for Brandon to come downstairs so we talked to him for a few minutes. He was a nice guy. Brandon went to church with him on Sunday under strict instructions from my father. After church, he comes over to talk to me and my parents. Wow! Let me tell you how God hooked this thing up! God set my brother up with someone who has a kindred spirit with my family and is reminiscent of my father. God knew that would be something Brandon would need. Elder Cullen spoke highly of the way Brandon spoke about us, telling us it was definitely not the norm. He also spoke highly of how my parents raised us. He looked at me and said that God had something big in store for both Brandon and I BUT this came with a Word of warning. He told us that testing time is coming and specifically for Brandon, that God was going to do a precision incision. He said that Brandon would bleed but in the end, he would thank God for the blood (in both senses). He told us to get ready and not to blame everything on the devil. When Jesus went into the wilderness, He was led by the Spirit into a time of testing. The same thing goes for us. God will sometimes lead us into a time of testing and allow us to be in wilderness situations. That thing blessed my soul! And he was really able to just pour into my father as the man of our house and as a pastor. He was such a blessing and a God-send. So my family was able leave there reassured that God was completely in control and that he knows exactly what he was doing. God is indeed faithful!
Instances like this always call me from fact to truth and cause me to realize God's truth over man's facts anyday. I thank God that He remains in control, no matter what things look like. And i thank Him even more than He chooses to show us that He's still in control
