As my son goes off to college in a matter of weeks I am seeing my influence, in the form of authority and control, dissipate with each passing day. I hope I will always have some influence in his life. To have no influence is to have no relationship.  Further, I hope that over the years he has developed a level of respect rooted in my love for him and demonstrated by the life I live.  But the nature that influence expresses itself is changing as he assumes more responsibilty for himself, moves to a new city, where he will begin a life that I am a visitor to but not a resident in.

I find I ask myself what advice I want to offer that he might take with him. 

One important area, as he engages in study to prepare for the life God has in store for him, concerns a perspective on work itself.   Danielle Sallade has written a wonderfully insightful treatise titled Human Flourishing.

Here is how Sallade introduces her work:

This essay proposes that living as a Christian, an alternative to the prevailing culture, leads to flourishing. First, I briefly sketch what the worldly culture of busyness looks like. I then discuss how our modern notions about the nature of work and success create the culture of busyness and keep it going. Finally, I attempt to show how the Christian faith offers an alternative way to understand work and success that, when believed and lived out, results in joy, peace, and genuine flourishing instead of stress, anxiety, and exhaustion

I think this article will find fertile ground in the minds of a wider audience than merely college students.  We all have to deal with this issue.