Waiting is the Hardest Part

Life with a 15 year old is certainly all it's cracked up to be. They say that by the time a child reaches age 12-13 you've done all of the teaching that you can do, and after that it's just a matter of "guidance". Well, this is a scary truth, and living it out is full of dilemmas. At 15 my eldest has lost all motivation for doing well at school. He is an all around good kid - not a trouble maker in the least - he is kind, helpful, courteous, and quite fun to be around......................he's just lost all motivation for completing schoolwork. How does a mom deal with this? I'm not so sure.............................
Gone are the days when I could put him in his room, spank him, take away his favorite toy, give him a stern talking to, etc. He is a young man who must find a way for himself, and in order to be motivated, he needs to decide for himselft that school is worthwhile - no amount of punishment will "make" him motivated.
They say that "waiting is the hardest part". I concur. I see huge amounts of potential in my son. So much in fact that it pains me to see him waste his intellect - I am hurt more than I am angered. I am thankful that at the core I know that God has a plan for him, and that when all else fails, I can trust in this alone.