The time to deploy is when your child reaches maturity as a young adult. This is a difficult stage not so for the child but more so for the parent. Guilty!
We have certain standards that we adhere to and would want our children to embrace. To this end, we have been nurturing and protective. We have been accustomed to giving out orders and expecting obedience. Rightfully, for they were under our wing.
But it is during the young adult stage that the time of testing must come. It is an exercise of faith to be able to release them. As mentioned earlier, the goal is that they become independent of us and dependent on God.
It is sobering that Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.”1Either they walk in truth and we rejoice2 or they tarry and experiment choosing to walk a different path and suffer the consequence. Knowingly, they will be held into account by their Father.
I’ve read it before, “A dad is someone who wants to keep you from making mistakes but instead lets you find your own way, even though his heart breaks in silence when you get hurt.”
My ability to release is an act of trust and obedience to Our Father. By faith I believe that he holds above all His Name and His Word.3 Thus, I can trust His character, His faithfulness, His promises.
God’s thoughts are not mine, neither my ways His ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than my ways and His thoughts than my thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it will accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.4
We have trained Johanan and Jemimah in the way that they should go; we trust that when they are old, they will not depart from it.5
In stillness we await with joyful expectation! We trust that they live the values that we have planted, walking in faith, being fruitful that Jesus may be glorified through them. . . meantime, Stella and I walk hand in hand (a good segue to my next series on Marriage, R.I.N.G.).
Notes:
1. John 5:19
2. 3 John 4
3. Psalm 138:2
4. Isaiah 55:8-11
5. Proverbs 22:6
Touching. True, time will come we have to let go and let God. But I consider we, as parents who have been chosen to be stewards of these children have been blessed to have been chosen to be educated with the word of God in order to walk our children in His truth, and chosen to be with community of believers encouraging one another, enforcing the truth of His words, and be with fellow Brethren who walk the talk. And that, I honestly see in George and Stella.