Children leave the nest.

At least they’re supposed to.

When?

Around the start of college.

Doesn’t matter if they’re ready.

Because ready or not, there they go.

They crave independence.

You crave silence.

But that doesn’t make it any easier to let them go.

I always knew they’d grow up and find their own way.

But I guess I thought I’d be ready.

Happy.

Joyful to release them.

News flash.

I’m not.

I want to protect them.

I want to make sure their heart is God’s alone.

Make sure they eat their fruit and veggies, consuming adequate vitamins.

Make sure they don’t step into evil, no matter the pleasure.

I want them to watch only the nice movies, pick only the godliest friends, and fall in love with only the one You have for them.

Sigh.

Makes me think of God.

He is our Father, yet we, as His children, leave Him, too.

Like we release our kids when they’re grown, He, too releases us, giving us full control.

He choose to give us life, which is full of choices we can make.

He watches us and lets us go.

His heart hurts when we, His children, make poor choices.

He would rather decide everything for us, too.

Just like me for the children.

But He doesn’t.

He allows us to fly and fail.

But He’s always waiting to take us back.

While the children keep leaving, not fully ready according to my book, all I can do is follow my example.

Follow God’s example to us.

He created us, yet He lets us live our own lives, make our own choices, lie in our own beds we create.

Is He sometimes happy with us?

Yes.

Does He also want us to make the right choice every time?

Of course.

But we don’t always.

We mess up.

Standing in the gap, His love is always constant.

Unconditional.

We don’t need to prove ourselves for Him to love us.

He’s always ready with open arms when we decide to return.

As we sit back and watch our children make choice after choice, just remember to keep loving them.

Love them and take them back when they return for a visit.

Your love will be a safety net in this world.

Your love will be an example of God Himself to them.

And that, folks, is where it’s at.

Photos by juan pablo rodriguez ,Vladimir Tsokalo ,Jeremy Bishop & Anna Kolosyuk on Unsplash