Undisputed — Over The Family - Thursday
Today’s Verse
1 Samuel 1:27–28a
I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life. (NLT)
It’s graduation season, and my social media feeds are filled with announcements and proud parent moments as many kids celebrate their most recent accomplishments in the academic world. This year, my own middle child is among the graduates. Friends and family keep asking, “Are you sad?” Honestly, I’m not sad. I’m excited, not just for him, but for us. We made it! And he’s ready!
We’ve advanced to a new level of letting go in the parenting game. But that process didn’t start with graduation. It didn’t even start with senior year. It began much earlier, when he was just a toddler.
I remember a playdate years ago when another 3-year-old carried his plate to our sink. I was stunned. Could my child do that, too? That moment changed me as a parent. I realized my role as mom was shifting from doing everything for my kids to teaching them to do it for themselves.
Over time, we handed off age-appropriate responsibilities. Sometimes, I felt guilty when my kids complained that other kids’ moms did certain chores for them, things we expected our kids to do for themselves. But a wise friend reminded me that loving them well means preparing to let them go.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about this transition, and it brings to mind Hannah and her son Samuel. Hannah longed for a child, and God gave her Samuel, a son she cherished. When he was weaned, Hannah gave him back to God. Why? Because she understood, he belonged to God first.
“I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” (1 Samuel 1:27-28a)
As parents, we get to hold them for a while, but then we begin the process of giving them back to God.
REFLECTION
If you’re a parent, navigating raising kids or teens, I highly recommend the book (or podcast) Feeding the Mouth that Bites You by Dr. Kenneth Wilgus. In it, he walks you through the idea of “planned emancipation”. It is a gradual and intentional process of preparing your kids to take ownership of their lives and faith in age-appropriate phases.
