When we lived in Lafayette, an elementary school was just down the street from us. I enjoyed watching kids walking to school. The first days of school you would see a little boy or girl walking next to their mom or dad. Usually they would be holding hands. Moms and Dads would have eyes full of tears.
After a few days the scene changed. The kids would be holding hands with another new friend. Occasionally they would glance back at the parent. But there was a new confidence that had been borne. Some of the parents would actually stop the last few hundred yards and just let the kids walk the rest of the way. The kids liked this idea. No one wants to be seen at school with their parents in tow.
By the end of the first month few parents were in the picture. The routine had been established. Kids would walk and play with kids. They had been let go.
One of my clinical friends had a great definition for parenthood. The object of parenthood is work your way out of a job. It is to create a confidence and ability to live independently within our children. It is NOT being your child's best friend. They will have many friends. But they will only have two biological parents. Some parents do not understand this. They do not understand letting go.
In letting go we are found. We are created to be what God has created us to be. We learn what it means to be independent and yet dependent. Isn't it interesting that when God created, the first act was to let them roam in the garden.
Some young adults will leave for college in a few days. It is a time of letting go. Moms will want to decorate their college rooms. And some will. But then they will leave. I tell college kids if they have a grandparent praying for them while at college, they might as well just let God in their life. I think grandparents have a special link to God sometimes, especially for grand kids. For those who do not have a grandparent praying for them, find one to borrow, rent, or lease.
It is a story that I just remember this time of the year. A young man arrived at his college for the first time. He had left home and driven in his car to college. He remembered watching his mom and dad in the rear view mirror. Even his dad's eyes were teary. But he was so excited to be on his own.
He arrived at the dorm and began to unpack his belongings. His mom had packed the suitcase as only a mom would. His dad had helped him just throw some stuff in the car. When unpacking the suitcase, he found something really strange at the bottom of the suitcase. There were two pieces of cloth. They seemed familiar but he could not place them. So he stuck them in the drawer. No time to figure that out. He would ask mom later.
So the first day was exciting. Finally he fell into bed exhausted and yet excited. Before he fell asleep he did what he had done all his life, he began to pray. In his prayers, visions of the day came forward with a sense of gratitude and thanksgiving. Just was he was about to fall asleep, he prayed for his mom and dad. And then it happened. He remembered. As a little boy when he needed the comfort that only a mom could give, he would go into the kitchen. His mom would be cooking a meal. The only thing he could reach was the apron she wore--that familiar apron. He would pull on the ties of the apron and his mom would pick him up and hug him as only a mom can.
The strange pieces of cloth in his suitcase were now clearly identified. His mom had cut the ties of her apron and given them to him. She was letting him go.
Pray for me as I Pray for you.
M. Jack O'Dell
Lead Pastor
www.stlukesimpson.org
www.midweekmanna.com
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