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Eldest and I attended her new intermediate school orientation today. Last night I had difficulty sleeping and awoke early this morning with the jitters.

As we walked into school and found out what group she would be with today, we both realized she would not be with anyone she knew. Worse, most of her friends were placed together.

I was transported back to middle school. Awkward emotions, uneasy smiles, new alliances and cliques forming, and all of the pain of adolescence smacked me in the face. I wanted to grab my daughter and run away screaming.

Standing among the group of strange faces, I prayed and whined to the Lord. “Why? This is not fair! How come she is alone again????? We were new here last year and it looks like she is starting over new again!”

She turned to me in that moment and asked the same question. I said, “I don’t know, but I was just praying about it.”

Interestingly, I had just prayed last night God would help me teach her about questions and not understanding His plans. God is big enough for our questions. In fact, asking God questions is a way to deepen faith and make it personal.

So, I put a smile on my face. “Maybe God has people in this group that need a nice friend. I’m sorry. It doesn’t seem fair.”

Then she told me it was time for me to go. Okay, it took me a few moments to severe the umbilical cord, but I did it. She seemed fine when I saw her later in the morning.