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Freedom Within Christ's Frame



 It's May. My son graduates this month. There is some sadness in that. In August he'll leave home and may not return for more than a summer--ever again. However, I think he is ready, and I'm happy for him. How do I know he's ready? Maybe it's his earring, maybe it's his shaggy hair, maybe it's his willingness to sing "In the Still of the Night" in front of an assembly of people.

I remember a kid twenty-five years ago who was so conservative he wouldn't wear bell bottom jeans. He played it safe in school, got good grades, had a girlfriend he hardly talked to, was nervous in front of classmates, and used sports as his only outlet.

Then he decided to let his hair grow, not for protest or person, just to be different than he had been. Then, he tried hitchhiking with a couple of friends and enjoyed the thrill of him up. By golly, he even bought a pair of bell bottoms. Then he tried out for the choir and the school musical and sang a solo and met more new people, people that didn't even attend sporting events. He started writing stories and was published in the school literary magazine. His stuff was exposed to the kids in his world, and they got a kick out of it. He, as they say, blossomed.

His morals, thanks to God's love and grace, never changed. He remained a virgin and drug-free. He stayed in sports and did a decent job there but enjoyed it more because it wasn't everything. He still loved his Mom and honored the elders in his extended family, and his honor for them was authentic because they loved him and extended enough acceptance to let him enjoy the freedom to grow up.

Odd isn't it. Some long hair, a pair of bell bottoms, and hitchhiking did this kid a world of good. They helped bring a sense of freedom and a sense of grace to a life that needed fresh air.

My son is much like I was. He is a good kid. He's been disciplined and expectations have been pretty high. He has grown up in a small glass house, the son of a teacher and coach and part-time preacher. He has known the limitations of people's ideas of what he should be like, a box of sorts that often hinders maturity.

Thankfully, he hasn't let that happen. Now, I don't care much for his earring, but it is minor. He could use a haircut, but I had the same unruly mop. I don't let him hitchhike in this day and age, but he does get to play drums in a rock band whose music is not my favorite. He has some freedoms that aren't easy to accept all the time, but I feel better for their existence. These freedoms are part of grace, part of his knowing we love him and want him to be himself even when that is a little bit uncomfortable for us parents.

There is freedom within the frame of Christ's love and guidance. I found it just in time when I was a teenager, in time to avoid the painful sting of rebellion and the prison of narrowmindedness. I think my son has found that too. Now he is ready to leave.





About the Author:


 Steve Graner is a Christian educator and familyman employed by the Minot, ND Public School District. A licensed laypastor, he is passionate about Christian writing and Christian drama. Along with family and friends, Steve has performed numerous self-written dramas and musicals for area church audiences.