Welcome to the first Five Minute Friday link-up of April 2025! I hope you enjoyed the March Guest Post Series last month. I know I did! Thank you again to the four FMF community members who served as guest writers. It was providential timing, as I injured my wrist last month and had to be in a brace for three weeks, so typing was a challenge!
If you’re new to the FMF community, you can learn more about the link-up here.
Also, be sure to join the FMF email list to receive weekly writing prompts in your inbox!
This week’s FMF writing prompt is: PERSUADE
Setting my timer for five minutes, and . . . GO.Â
The college application process is a funny one — especially for Christians who are called to be humble and not elevate themselves. You spend all this time — years of high school, in fact — busting your tail to be good enough, to do enough, to stand out enough . . . and then you have to fill out all these forms, answer all these questions, and write all these essays to try to persuade educational institutions that you’re worthy to attend their school.
My youngest has just made it through that process — taking test after standardized test, writing essay after essay, and providing short answer after short answer to try to prove his worth. And yet, as believers in Christ, we know that anything good that has happened or that has been accomplished is because of God. It’s all because of His sustaining grace, His enabling, His strength, His faithfulness, His provision.
And by God’s grace, the Lord provided once again.
This past week we found out that my son was accepted to his first-choice university — a school that currenly has a SEVEN percent acceptance rate. Say what?! (Let’s just say this outcome showed me how weak my faith has been, because I encouraged him to apply, but I was not holding my breath!)
To say I have been giddy for him would be an understatement.
We are so, so thankful for the Lord’s favor and for the ways HE persuaded the powers that be to give my kid a chance.
STOP.
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Join the link-up with your own five-minute freewrite on the prompt, PERSUADE, then visit your link-up neighbor to read their post and leave an encouraging comment:Â
How can I persuade my God
to keep me going somewhat longer?
Maybe my logic is flawed,
or my case should be stronger,
but I have done the best I can,
and failing, still go on
to play the fool and play the man
unto the final dawn,
so please, God, I don’t want to go
to the streets of gold.
Not yet, not until I know
the legend born of old
’bout a hero with a fatal flaw
who nonetheless broke time’s own law.
May I post some support from Agatha Christie?
“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.”
Congratulations on your son!!
Congrats on your son’s acceptance! We have just a few years before my own son will be going through that process. Thankfully, my husband is a college administrator, so I have a little more “inside” perspective that helps me not be quite so anxious about the whole process. But it is still definitely God’s hand that gets us where we need to be!
That is awesome.
Congratulations to your son!