As my children have gotten older, I find I have a new
struggle, letting go. These young adults
that consumed hours of my time when they were young are now grown and ready to
be on their own. They don’t need a
parent. Sometimes, if I’m honest, I’m
not ready for them to be on their own….. I want them to need me. There is a part of me that still wants to
nurture and protect them. Some days as I
watch them struggle in their life, everything in me wants to come to their aid
and shield them from these problems. As
I was lamenting over this with a friend the other day, she reminded me that it
is similar to when they are babies and learning to walk for the first time. We
watch nervously and joyfully as they try to walk. We guide them and
encourage them. As adults, they may
fall, they may make bad decisions but we shouldn’t discourage them from making their
own choices and being on their own because they may fall. I
wonder if what we know as young parents teaching our children to walk we forget
as they become adults. Our job, as they
get older, is to encourage, guide and pray for them. Yes, I’m learning to walk by faith in this
area because now they are not at home so I can’t always know they’re making
good decisions. I don’t always get to see their spiritual walk so I have to
trust that I have taught them well. As a
parent, this is where I struggle. I don’t
always see myself as having done a good job teaching my children. I am
learning to trust God to know what’s best for them. So yes, right now I feel like I felt as a
young parent when I would watch my children take those first few steps as a toddler
excited yet nervous because you know there is always the potential that they
will fall and get hurt. I am resting on
the fact that I have taught my children to love and reverence God and that the
God I serve also love them way more than I do and he will protect them and care
for them even if that means taking a tumble so they will trust him more. I also remind myself daily that they are
doing exactly what God planned for them to do…. grow and be responsible and NOT
dependent on mom and dad.
