Sorry Saturday: Let's Focus on Moving Out

It's a Sorry Saturday this week (and I completely skipped last Friday) because life has been crazy at our house the last few weeks. Our two daughters graduated from college just a week apart. Last weekend I traveled over to Michigan to pick up one of my sisters and then we drove to Tennessee to see our nephew graduate from high school. It only took us 19 hours instead of 10 to get from Michigan to Tennessee, but that's a story for another Friday.

This week I'm going to focus for a few minutes on my oldest child: Erin. Here she is on graduation day from UNI a few weeks ago.

We're so proud of her. She has a job lined up as a 5th grade Science teacher in Shenandoah, Iowa next year, so she has been busy getting ready to move down there. It got very real for me when I saw most of her stuff piled up in the kitchen and living room, ready for the big moving day.

 

I started getting a little emotional when I thought about getting her into her new rental house (a very nice remodel) and leaving her there, over four hours away from home. It felt different than moving her into different dorm rooms and apartments during college. This time it seems more permanent. We may have to help her move again, but with any luck it will not be back to our house.

It's sad and yet it's a great day as well. Our little girl is growing up and embarking on new adventures that will shape the rest of her existence. The easiest thing would be for her to stay at home and let us take care of her, but she is competent and confident and excited to get out on her own. We pray for her as she begins teaching and getting used to a new community.

The outside isn't quite finished, but it's looking very nice.

She was so excited so had to post this on Facebook the day she got her key.

Raising our children to move out and become independent is the best goal for parents to have. Holding them close and not letting them go just hurts our children. Teach them while you can, let them go when it's time, and pray for them as they live on their own. God loves them even more than you do, and He'll always be there for them.

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6 NIV)
Is it hard for you to let your adult children go? How can focusing on God help you to let them go and entrust them to God?