Distance keeps parents at bay

With our sons spread out from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Michigan we cannot simply go and help every time they have a problem. I don’t like that, but it does have it advantages. Take the month of August — please.
Our youngest son decided to settle in St. Louis after his summer job there ended. He didn’t have a job, had not planned on the cost of transitional housing and knew no one in the city. When he could not find a cheap place to spend the night, he slept soundly in his car while I slept fitfully waking in the middle of the night to pray for him. (2 a.m. feeding end in a couple of months, but 2 a.m. prayers go on forever.)
A day of looking for an apartment taught him: Landlords like renters with cash flow. He prayed, “God, I need a job, now. Please.” At the next shopping center he saw four help wanted signs. One resulted in a job making submarine sandwiches.
I finally relaxed after he called to tell me he was signing a lease for a studio apartment. He still needed a full-time job with benefits but he had a place to sleep and hang his hat while looking.
His Indiana brother was visiting us at that time. He decided to visit his little brother on the way home. I sent along a few items to help set up housekeeping.
They had a great visit. My Indiana son had a smooth drive home only to call a couple days later to say his car had problems, what should he do?
I wanted to send my husband over to help him fix it. But he was too far away. He had to evaluate the problem and arrange for the repairs himself.
Then there was my New Orleans’ son’s older home in the heart of the city. It needs a few repairs here and there. Every time we visit, my husband fixes something. He drew up fantastic plans for remodeling the whole place, if we lived closer — fortunately we don’t.
Early in the summer a highly recommended carpenter eagerly agreed to fix their house. His enthusiasm lasted a whole two-and-a-half months. Then he quit, leaving behind exposed 2-by-4s and insulation. With fall rains coming the job needed to be done quickly. But we couldn’t help. Our vacation time was gone and we had promised to spend Labor Day weekend visiting in St. Louis.
The New Orleans son invited church friends over for a barbecue and his version of a barn raising. The plywood, tar paper and beveled siding are now in place and their house is ready for the fall rains. Plus, they know the church folks better and my son feels more confident about doing the repairs himself with his new collection of tools. His tools will never again fit into a kitchen drawer or a shelf in the closet.
It isn’t easy to smile, give our sons our blessing as they go venturing off on their own to big cities. However sometimes at 2 a.m. when I am whispering another worried prayer over them, I realize the distance keeps us from rescuing them and allows them to trust in God and develop their own resources instead.