LETTING
KIDS GO

Topics: Child Rearing; Children; Family; Independence; Letting Go

References: Deuteronomy 11:19; Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4

The task of raising kids is rather like trying to fly a kite on a day when the wind doesn’t blow, said humorist Erma Bombeck. Mom and Dad run down the road pulling the cute little device at the end of a string. It bounces along the ground and shows no inclination of getting off the ground.

Eventually and with much effort, they manage to lift it fifteen feet in the air, but great danger suddenly looms. The kite dives toward electrical lines and twirls near trees. It is a scary moment. Will they ever get it safely on its way? Then, unexpectedly, a gust of wind catches the kite, and it sails upward. Mom and Dad feed out line as rapidly as they can.

The kite begins pulling the string, making it difficult to hold on. Then they reach the end of their line. What should they do now? The kite is demanding more freedom. It wants to go higher. Dad stands on his tiptoes and raises his hand to accommodate the tug. The line is now grasped tenuously between his index finger and thumb, held upward toward the sky. Then the moment of release comes. The string slips through his fingers, and the kite soars majestically into God’s beautiful sky.

Mom and Dad stand gazing at their precious “baby” who is now gleaming in the sun, a mere pinpoint of color on the horizon. They are proud of what they’ve done—but sad to realize their job is finished. Raising this child was a labor of love. But where did the years go?

—James Dobson, Complete Marriage and Family Home Reference Guide (Tyndale, 2000)