So a few months ago, not exactly sure when it was, one of my fellow squad members who also turns out to be my first friend on the race had a really sweet idea to get her parents to write a blog for her to post. So just wanted to give a little credit to Courtney Jackson for the sweet idea!
This is what my mom had to say…
“My son asked me to write a blog about what it is like to be a World Race Gap Year Mom, from my perspective…
I had an idea in my head of what my son’s future was going to be like. I envisioned that he would graduate high school, go to college (still living at home), find the love of his life, graduate college (before marrying the love of his life, of course), establish a career, get married and start a family. I always gave my son a persona of the “all-American kid”, and I assumed that this was the path that he was going to follow. Little did I know that God had a completely different plan for Bo…?
When Bo first approached me with this idea to travel the world for months at a time…I completely missed the part of him being a missionary and reaching out to people in other countries in the name of Jesus. All I took away at first was that my baby, my first born, was going to leave the nest and be gone for months at a time all the way on the other side of the world. I was sad, I was heart-broken, but most of all, I was being selfish. When I finally realized that he was making his first adult decision (after convincing myself that he WAS an adult), and he was following the path that God had led him to without hesitation…I had a peace about it. But, it was not until I went to Parent Launch in Georgia, that I fully understood what was about to happen. I saw the passion in my son’s eyes, I understood the journey that he needed to take, I knew that this was exactly what Bo needed to be doing and at exactly the right moment in his life. And, it was at that point, that I as a parent looked up to my 18 year old son and only wished I had the drive, the gumption, the carefree heart and the Faith in God that he had. My son became a witness to me, and he completely changed my outlook on my own Faith. And, since the moment that I watched him walk away and knew that I would not see that baby for nine months, I have never been more proud, and more sure that this was what God had designed him to do. And with each picture I see of him holding a child or leading worship or even playing on an African college soccer team, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this son of mine and son of God is going to change lives.
Do I miss him?…absolutely. But, he is being the hands and feet for God and I know that Bo is under His wing…so, it is with peace and without hesitation that I let my baby spread his wings and fly.”
