Every year parents across the country prepare to send their children away to college. Some are ready to embrace this new chapter with all of its challenges, while others are far less enthusiastic.
This rite of passage is heart-wrenching for many parents and is fraught with a host of new concerns and fears. Will my child adjust? What challenges and temptations will they encounter? Will they find good friends? A Christian community? I found myself in this predicament, and, although excited for my son, I didn’t know whether I was prepared to let go just yet.
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. When I ponder these verses, I am reminded that our children are a blessing from God, given to us for an all-too-brief season. Our responsibility is to exemplify Christ and instill in them a love for God. We instruct them in the hope that they’re able to grasp that God has a specific plan they alone can fulfill.
But still, this warrior is hesitant to release the arrow in her hand. When the day of departure came, I had a choice: I could release him and trust that God would bring to fruition all I had deposited into my son’s life, or I could release him and face sleepless nights, consumed by the what ifs.
When a warrior releases his arrow, he intends to hit the mark. I choose to trust and release my son into the loving and faithful hands of my heavenly Father. God is faithful to keep that which we entrust to Him.
Trust your children into God’s hands. He cares for them.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Nydia DiCarali resides in New York with her husband of twenty-two years and is the mother of two teenagers. A Christian for more than twenty-four years, Nydia teaches women’s Bible studies and has coordinated retreats and conferences to further encourage others to continue to walk by faith. She believes that when we allow ourselves to be governed by God’s Word we can live as more than conquerors.