As a parent, I am certain I am not the only one to ask “Where has the time gone?” It seems as if it were just yesterday that my daughter was placed in my arms for the first time; a tiny, helpless, dependent infant. Today she is a lovely, self-assured, intelligent young lady. Perhaps it is the fact that this child of mine has attained the age and the “prestige” of possessing a driver’s license and has a “job” that has brought this musing to the forefront; scarcely believing that she is old enough for these responsibilities. Perhaps it is that she is presently immersed in the second half of her Junior year of high school with only one more year to graduation, upon which she will then set her foot on the pathway of adulthood.
As I have watched her grow and mature, especially during the past year, I am reminded again how short the time is that we have our children. When they are first placed in our arms, the years loom ahead and it seems that we have all the time in the world, but we quickly learn that time does not meander through their childhood, but rather it rushes on. It ofttimes leaves us breathless in the wake of the responsibilities of guiding this child through the throes of infancy, toddlerhood, then the school years. We watch – many times amazed at who they are becoming, as they dance with abandon through the varying myriad of activities and interests that ebb and flow as they grow and mature. I have been blessed immeasurably with a precious daughter who has brought immeasurable joy to this that is my life. Her joie de vivre, love for her Lord and Savior, her musical talents, partiality to the written word, artistic abilities, confidence, and compassion all comprise what is my daughter – my firstborn.
Now, I am having to slowly step back and begin to release her to the future, praying and hoping that through our nurture and teaching, she will find the path that the Lord has set before her and will follow it with the same confidence that has been indicative of her childhood.
Letting go of our children – I am beginning to see that it is perhaps the most difficult responsibility of parenthood.
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It goes quickly, all right! I can still remember the night our first child was born, and the feelings and amazement that I felt. Now he is 28 years old! His mother and I are immensely grateful that he and his brothers and sister are all walking in the Lord. God grant that we are with them all in the Kingdom of God.
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