“…for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” (Gen. 22:12 NLT)
School started this week in our town. Our oldest is driving herself to the junior college for two classes. Our son is right in the thick of those difficult middle school days, and our youngest is suddenly in second grade.
This week, I’ve read stories of kids being mugged for their electronic devices and phones. I saw statistics that say the average age for the first exposure to pornography is nine. (My youngest is seven.) There are quick notes in the newspaper about kids arrested for underage drinking or possession, kids whose names I recognize from my oldest daughter’s elementary years.
It’s enough to make a recovering control freak parent relapse and want to lock her kids up until they’re… I don’t know… 25 or 30.
But here’s the lesson for me. Our kids are a gift from God. He entrusted them to my husband and me, to care for them, to set them on the right path, to guide them in developing a heart that hungers for Him, but ultimately He loves them even more than I do.
God is not asking me to sacrifice them on an altar. (I would almost certainly fail that test.) However, He is asking me to trust that He is GOD and that He will take care my kids. He encourages me not to try and stand in His place when it comes to my children. He assures me He will provide, whether that is protection, wisdom, good friends, discernment or whatever else they need.
Plus, as I let go, my kids learn that God is the source and that they can rely on Him individually and directly without having to go through Mom. Their faith becomes their own and not something else I stuff in their backpacks.
What’s the most important back-to-school lesson you’ve learned?