Under God's Umbrella

March 6, 2025

From Jeff Freeman

This week I drove my daughter to the airport, where she got out of my car and headed in to travel to Michigan to visit a special friend. Watching her walk away from the car and go into the airport reminded me of something that has happened to me before.  

I remembered the first time my children left home (thankfully, not on the same day), not for a day or a few days but when they actually left to live at college or work away from home for a summer. That moment they left my “umbrella” (safety, supervision and security) and entered someone else’s “umbrella” (Adventist college) and/or began establishing their own “umbrella”.   

That moment started a new chapter in Annemarie & my lives. My children did come home again. They still hung out with us. They still went on vacations with us. But it became different on that day. My children started into their new adulting necessary to be successful in the world today. They started making their own “umbrellas”.  That began (continuing today) the chapter for us parents of continuing to plead with God for His power and strength to lead our children as they engage with other people/organizations’ “umbrellas”. It is a faith walk when we see the world we live in struggling and not living as we do under our “umbrella”. Oh Lord, what could go wrong!

Thankfully, we can pray. Prayer connects the new “empty nesters” with God’s heavenly throne. It is there that Annemarie and Jeff Freeman find a peace about our children. Some peace does come when we see their locations on our phone and notice they are safely in the dorm of Southern. Some peace does come when we hear their voice on the phone laughing and telling us about all the good things happening. Ultimately though, real peace, joy and contentment can only come when we trust that God loves and cares more for our children than we do. He knows where all our children are. He wants their hearts more than we want Him to have their hearts. His “umbrella” is so much bigger and better than mine could ever be.  

As I dropped off Emily this week at the airport, instead of crying like I have done before, I reminded myself that God is in control!  

God is teaching Annemarie and I about being content under His “umbrella”, and wow, is it awesome! Are you learning to be content under His “umbrella” too? Hopefully, you already have already learned this concept entirely and are living the dream because of it. If you, like Annemarie and I, are continuing to learn this, remember, because of Jesus, we can live the dream during the learning too!  

Living the dream under God’s umbrella, that is the Freeman’s chapter for now! What about you?