Born to Let Go
On the day a woman gives birth (or adopts), two things are born.
A baby and a Mama.
Both are born to let go.
In the beginning, they need one another to grow and mature but with every passing day there is a letting go that happens as independence begins to outweigh interdependence.
As I watch my daughters grow up my heart is caught between two desires.
The first desire is to keep a hold of their hands so that when they miss a step, I can be there to catch them. But then I realized that would have been like me, never letting them learn how to walk lest they stumble and fall in the process. The only way they were going to learn and grow in strength and grace was for me to let go. And when I did, they stepped, they stumbled, and then they smiled, got back up and tried again. Today, they don’t just walk; they run, they leap, they climb. They have fallen only to get back up and rise above it all.
It is tempting to believe that I will be able to protect them from every hurt that can wound their heart or conflict that can scrape their character throughout the course of their life. But that isn’t true. To hold onto them would be to cripple them spiritually and emotionally and hinder the powerful potential of God’s, love, power, grace and calling on their lives. The only way they grow is to let go of my hand and for me to let go of theirs.
The second desire is to see them let go of my hand of guidance and hold onto the hand of Almighty God. I understand that my abilities as a mama are limited, but there are days I struggle to accept God’s all sustaining grace and love will guide and hold them up in ways I never can. I train them up in the way they should go and then I look ahead at the mirror maze of life and fear grips my heart. What if they aren’t prepared? What if they go down a dead-end road? What if they fail? What if they fall?
What if all those things and more happen? Is God no longer good? Did I fail as a mother? Are they lost forever? The answer is NO! Every time I train my daughters up in something and let go of their hands when it is time for them to take that first step on their own, I am releasing them into the faithful care of the one who knit them in my womb, who knows the number of hairs on their head, and who loved them with an everlasting love before they ever took their first breath on earth. Will they struggle? Will they fail? Yes! But they were born to let go and they were born to get back up and grow stronger with every step.
It is this Mama’s heart to continue to let go and in the letting go, watch them take their first steps toward the open arms of Jesus who will walk with them through life as their Good Shepherd. You see, I am not training them to run off with no sense of direction as soon as I let go; I am training them (and myself) that there is wonder, power, beauty, discovery, grace, and growth waiting on the other side of letting go and stepping toward the promises of God as beautifully original, Lord directed women.
In teaching them to let go, I am teaching myself to do the same. I encourage you to embrace letting your kids go as they mature and watch the amazing things God does in your life and theirs when you do! As we commit our lives to training our children in the way they should go, we are training them to fly, not fall and we can take comfort in knowing God is going to be with us and them every step of the way.
Happy Mother’s Day!!
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