Releasing Our Children to the Lord's Will

As I write this post my youngest son is on a plane headed for a 74 day stint at an orphanage in Haiti. I am proud of his willingness to sacrifice his entire summer to help others in the name Christ. Theologically, I know he is safe in the arms of the Lord. But as a parent, I admit I am also scared that something bad will happen to him. Malaria, cholera, crime, hurricanes, civil unrest, or simply hunger are all common realities in Haiti. As a parent, I worry that one or more of those ills will negatively impact my son. But theologically, I know nothing can happen outside of the will of God. My spiritual side argues with my parental side. I wish those two aspects of my life were in perfect harmony, and sometimes they are, but sometimes they are not. I guess that is just a reality of being a Christian parent.

Releasing our children to the Lord’s will is always a challenge. We spend years teaching our children to listen to the Holy Spirit and obey whatever He says. We help them do various mission projects when they are children and teens. We send them on week-long mission trips during their high school days with the church youth group. We pray they will grow up to care about others and serve the Lord in whatever ways He may ask them to. I guess in the back of our minds we know that it is possible that the Lord may place a higher calling on our children’s lives. We know that may require hardship and sacrifice, but somehow, we assume the Lord will call someone ELSE’S child to those moments of difficulty and sacrifice.

Then the day comes when our child tells us the Lord wants them to do something HUGE for Him. Suddenly we realize that it is much easier to pray for other people’s kids to become missionaries than it is to hug your own child before he gets on a plane and flies away to BE a missionary. It is easier to put your kids in the church van for a week-long trip with the church youth group to the next state than it is to put him on a plane by himself as he heads off to another country for months at a time. Yet, would we really want our children to disobey the Lord’s calling on their lives? NO. We would never want our children to walk in disobedience to the Lord. So, we pray a little harder, stretch our faith a little more, and release our children into the Lord’s will for their lives.

Lord, keep the grown man I will always think of as my little boy safe. Help him make a big impact for the kingdom. Help me to daily release Him into Your will for his life. Amen.