In My Father’s House
|
Like many mothers, I was anxious when my youngest son left home to go to college. My anxiety, however, was heightened because he was going to the United States to go to school, far from home here in Lusaka, Zambia. Because of the COVID-19 lockdown, he had done his first semester online, but now he needed to travel to America.
Before his travel, he had applied for on-campus accommodation, as advised for international students, and was placed on a waiting list.
We diligently checked the list to see whether he had been accommodated. I had joined all the webinar meetings for international parents to ensure we did all that was needed. One of these webinars was on accommodations for students.
The instructor assured us that international freshmen would be given priority regarding housing. On arrival in the United States of America, my son’s registration and other orientation programs went well—except for the accommodation.
He remained on the waiting list, and things appeared far from reassuring. Finally, a few days before his father was scheduled to return to Zambia, my son sent a desperate message: “Mama, this accommodation looks like it’s not as easy as we thought.
We need to pray.” The message was followed by several sobbing emojis! My mother’s heart was crushed. I literally cried out to God and said, “Lord, help me! My son!” I was immediately impressed to send an email to the director of housing at the university, but the only response I received was an automated “I am out of the office.” Desperation increased as I paced throughout the house. Within a few minutes, however, another email arrived from the director, asking for his details. I quickly sent those to her. She replied soon after, providing contact information for a person who offered him not one but two options for housing! My son was shocked at the speedy answer to our prayers, and he picked the first room he was shown. All this happened within thirty minutes of that first desperate cry for help. I thanked and praised God! It turned out that my son had erroneously been put on the wrong list. “In my Father’s house are many rooms” ( John 14:2, ESV). That day two of them were available.
Mukatimui Kalima-Munalula
