Letting Go....

I had to share this piece of the book I am reading Biblical Womanhood in the Home edited by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It just struck me hard and left me praying that I will if this ever comes up in my future with my children have this same attitude. Something I have come to realize just recently is that my children are only being loaned to me. They are my children but first they are the Lord’s children. I am caring for them until it is time for them to follow Him on their own. My purpose as their mother is to train them in His righteousness and in His instruction so that they can be a servant for Him. Here is the excerpt from chapter 4, Portrait of a Woman used by God by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, which has been an amazing read!

“Mothers, have you laid down your children for the sake of Christ and His kingdom? How sad it is on occasion to see Christian parents stand in the way of their children laying down their lives for the sake of Christ. And what a joy to see parents who gladly release their children to the will of God. I remember when a dear pastor’s wife, a friend of mine, said “good-bye” to one of her daughters, along with her son-in-law and two grandchildren, as they left to be missionaries in Cambodia. Just before their departure, I asked my friend “Isn’t this hard for you?” She replied, “Oh, Nancy, I can’t think of anything more wonderful than to have a child who wants to lay down her life for the sake of taking the Gospel to the world. Yes, it’s hard. We won’t see them much in this world, but there’s a whole lot of eternity after this life.” My friend, like Mary of Nazareth, was willing to bear the wounds of giving up her child for God’s redemptive purposes.”

I can only imagine that it would be hard to let go of your children for many reasons but with the perspective that the Lord is their sustainer, protector, provider, light, comfort, and rock it makes it a lot easier. I think that we have to be careful to not become selfish when it comes to our children. God is not trying to take our children away from us and cause us pain. We need to realize that we have had them for an important part of their life and in this time have prepared them to basically give their lives to the Lord, to submit to Him before us. When and if our children feel called to live 500 or 1000 miles away from us, in another state or in a whole other country our joy should overshadow our sadness and selfishness. We might not be able to see them as much as we would like here in this world but look forward to when we all go home together and instead of focusing on the illusion that they are you happiness try to focus on what God or is doing in your life and focus on Christ as your happiness.

Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Psalm 127:3-4