“Mom, let go.”
Those three words hit me hard. Tears fogged up my sunglasses. It was just the mastery of a two-wheel bike, but it was much more.
My son’s words echoed in my head as I loosened my grip on the bicycle seat and watched him cruise down the path unassisted. One more item added to the list of ways my baby doesn’t need me anymore.
But that’s what parenting is about. Training our children so they grow in independence. Still, it doesn’t take away the hurt. As I watch him reach new milestones, my sense of pride is mixed with a sense of loss. My prayer is that he will increase in spiritual growth as he has in physical growth. That one day he will take up this faith his father and I have been impressing upon him and say, “Mom, let go. You’ve taught me well, but I own this now.”
And I will let go and watch him become his own person. I’ll be grateful for the feeling of joy and pain mixed because that emotion is proof of love.
I wonder if Timothy’s mother and grandmother had similar feelings to work through. Their boy grew up to be a leader in the early church, but in order for him to succeed, they also had to let go.
Maybe it’s time to peel your clenched fist off that bicycle seat and watch your child ride free of your grasp. Give it a try. It’s okay if the tears fog up your sunglasses.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Kim Harms is a freelance writer who lives in Huxley, Iowa with her husband and three sons. She enjoys writing for Today’s Christian Woman and a variety of other publications. In addition to writing, she operates 500 Dresses, a clothing ministry to impoverished children, and she can be found online at www.kimharms.net and www.500dresses.org.