Skip to main content

Letting Go




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.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What’s That Smell?

To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. 2Corinthians 2:16 Last break!  The shift was almost over. Then the unthinkable happened, this man appeared out of nowhere wanting to know where the flashlights were kept.  As we were on our way to the flashlights, I noticed that this man had a very strong odor.  I thought perhaps I could get in front of him so that the smell would not be as strong.   That, however, was not to be either since; he insisted on keeping pace and walking right beside me. By the time we got to where the flashlights were; I was practically running just to keep ahead of him.  I showed him the flashlights and made a hasty exit.  If you’re like me, you shower and even put on perfume or cologne so that you will not stink.  We are concerned that the smell coming from our body is not offensive to others.  As I write this, I wonder if we are as concerned with our spiritual aroma as ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grow Old Gracefully

I’d like to tell you about a lady I visited yesterday.   She is ninety-five years young.  She recently moved into nursing home.  She asked one of the workers how many times she would have to walk around the outside of the building in order to walk a mile.  She said the person told her about ten.   Then she leaned in really close and whispered, “I walked around twelve just to be sure I walked a mile.”  Hahahaha! What a lady!  She loves to keep active, even in a nursing home.  As we talked, I saw no anger or bitterness in her speech or actions. There was only a love for God, a heart of compassion, and a sense of humor. She has befriended the one "prickly pear" at the home because as she said, “I have to love her, so she knows Jesus loves her too.”  Wow!!! I need to live like that!  I want to show that much compassion for those around me that need Jesus.  She loved to talk about God and what he was teaching her. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thank You God For Turning Our Ashes into Beauty

There are tragedy and sadness in everyone's life, No one is exempt. Yet, in the midst of the hurt and pain, God is there. He takes the things that hurt us and make us sad and turns them into things are beautiful. The death of my mother  was a tragedy to my dad. However, because of that tragedy, my dad began to see his need for God. In his brokenness, he found a God that could make him whole.  God turned his ashes into beauty. My dad, in turn, taught me to love God.   I am blessed to know God as my savior because of my dad. God also blessed me with a lovely step-mom Life is harsh at times, and many things are sad,  Yet, if we let him, he will take our ashes and make them into a work of art.   He delights in making the ash heaps of our life beautiful.   When we are broken, God is near, and where there is sorrow, he will turn it into dancing.   Thank you, God, F...
Post a Comment
Read more