Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
LETTING GO
Last weekend my husband and I drove our daughter several hundred miles away from home to start her first year of college. Our daughter was sooooooooooooo excited about her new adventure and even more excited that she was actually going to attend the College of her dreams.
As we were driving her down we were giving little snid-bits of advice along the way and all at the same time trying not to sound too over protective. I am sure she was not interested in hearing half of what we had to say, but she respectfully listened. I replayed many conversations back in my head and I wondered if I had told her everything that was important for her to know before I sent her out into this Big SCARRY world. I kept thinking I only have seven hours, what else do I need to caution her about. I realized that this was simply the fear and anxiety of wondering if I were really ready to let her go.
After we helped her set up her dorm room we attended a large picnic that the school had organized for the incoming Freshman Class and their parents. This, you could say was really a farewell picnic. After the picnic many parents were getting back on the road headed for home. We saw tears and hugs and sweet kisses, as every parent had their own set of concerns I am sure.
As we stood observing all of this, I saw one student hug his dad goodbye and give him a firm handshake, but when he looked at his mom and embraced her she literally melted in his arms.
I thought she would never stop crying. She held him as though it may be her very last hug from him.
Several weeks prior to this when we were there for Freshman Orientation Weekend we had met another couple whose daughter would also be attending College there for the first time. We all stood witnessing this special moment this family was having, as parents our hearts went out to them. We wanted to cry with them because we knew exactly what they were feeling. But thank God we held it together.
As the young man crossed the street to go back towards his next activity, I saw his mom walking forward but she would turn and look back at her son as they grew further and further apart, in the distance she also continued to wipe the tears away. Her husband looked over and saw that she needed to be consoled, so he put his arm around her and just gave her gentle little pats on the back.
WOW!!! It truly was a moment! And in that moment I realized that all we had done for our daughter and all that we had taught her was a preparation for this very moment.
God re-assured me in my spirit that He would still be in control whether she was with me or hundreds of miles away. He knew her first, and although nothing can replace a mother’s love, He and He alone can love deeper than even I am capable of. He knows the number of hairs on her head as he knows mine and he knows the plans He has for her and the purpose He created her. I am comforted in knowing that she has her own relationship with the Father and I simply cannot ask for more. I also realized that as Ecclesiastes 3: 1 says to everything there is a season, a time to every purpose under heaven and this is my season to Let Go. Not to stop loving, not to stop parenting, but to parent differently, to love and support, to pray for her each day and to trust that God is her guide and because He does not fail I can let go.
Just words to encourage every mom that wants to hold on knowing that this is the Season to let go.
Ask yourself, what am I holding on to that I need to let go and trust God to handle?
When you let go, something beautiful happens. God starts to unfold the beginning of the next Exciting Season of your life.
Just Trust Him.
