“Even in laughter the heart may ache…”

Proverbs 14:13

This is the time when so many of us as parents have mixed emotions. I love that Scripture speaks to this. We are not crazy. It is normal. Many of us are sending our kids off to college (if they can attend in person) and we are happy for them, but sad for us. I am so excited for the next stages of life that all of our children are entering, but I am sad for the stage they are leaving behind. The blessing for me due to Covid-19 was that two of our daughters were home from college for five months rather than three months.

Every year since they started attending Cedarville University, I have taken a picture of them next to the door of their room. Now, we have two that have graduated and live in apartments. In a matter of two weeks all three of our daughters moved into new places. They are living in new places and entering new chapters of their lives. Isn’t it exciting to see what the next step is for them? Isn’t it exciting to see how our children embrace the new challenges that they face? Don’t you love the phone calls and the stories? I cherish all of these things.

When I look at what the converse of this would be, I am thankful for the growing pains. The converse is that they live in our basement and don’t become and do what God created them for. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph. 2:10). God did not create our kids to be holed up in our basement. He created them and made them for the good works He prepared beforehand for them to do. I certainly don’t want to be in God’s way for the good work that He is going to do through them.

So as hard as it is to watch our children fly and be independent, let’s rejoice in the positives. Let’s focus on being an encouragement to them. Send them letters. Send them packages. Be available when they call and be a listening ear. Sometimes, they don’t want advice. They just want someone to listen. So listen well. Follow up with a text. Remind them how much you love them. Remind them who they are in Christ. Remind them that their identity is found in Christ and not in who their friends say they are or who they feel they are. In all of these wonderful reminders, we will remind ourselves that even though they don’t need us to cook supper for them they still need us. They just need us in different ways and part of our new job is to figure out what these new ways are.

Remember, your job as Mom and Dad is just as essential, it’s just different. Go figure out your new place. Your kids will be glad you did, and you will enter new doors of life as well. You may not move, but the Lord also has new and great plans for you. As believers, we all are “His workmanship.”