Stepping Back

In each phase, each season, of parenting, we learn to take a step back from our children.
When our children are learning to walk, we are "right there", ready to catch them and set them on their way again.
But each stage of parenting requires our "stepping back".
We begin this process the first time we leave our child/children with a babysitter or a relative. We then take another step back when our children begin school, and another step back when they enter adolescence! During their teenage years, our children sometimes wish we were way back!
When our daughters were in high school, I realized that as teenagers, they were on the playing field of life, and we, as parents, were in the grandstands. We needed to let them learn and play on the field without our interference, but at the same time we needed to be in the bleachers where we could observe, support, cheer on, encourage, advise, enjoy and be there when needed. That sometimes requires a difficult step back for us as parents. We want to fix things, to make things right, to control their lives and circumstances!
I understand that some parents must take difficult steps back during very difficult times of parenting, in order not to become an enabler, or a part of the problem. These steps are, no doubt, the hardest of all backward steps, no matter what age the child.
When our children enter college years, or move out of the home, we parents take a huge step back. Thank goodness for emails, cell phones, and most importantly, prayer, during those years!
When our daughters began their careers, my husband and I took a step back again, but we were still needed for advice, emergencies, car repairs, moving furniture (up and down apartment stairs), etc!
Now, we have entered a new season of "stepping back", the season of our daughters being married, of their starting new homes of their own. It's a wonderful season, and although we have stepped back by from former responsibilities, we can truly enjoy our relationships and realize that now, we are learning from them, and enjoying them more than ever.
And the dichotomy of it is, that the better we as parents are at taking these steps back, the closer the relationship with our children will become.
An important part of this whole "stepping back" process is to realize that for each "step back" that we make as parents, our prayers for our children should grow proportionately.
So, parents, let's take a step back, pray, and enjoy!

Peace

I heard a story...years ago...that did a great job illustrating peace.

There was once an art contest, and the winner would be the artist who could best portray "peace". There were many beautiful enties: pastoral scenes with fluffy clouds and green grass; a beautiful flower garden; a sunset over a calm lake; snowcapped mountain peaks with bright blue sky behind them, to name a few. But the entry that won was unusual. It showed a big tree, being tossed by the wind on a stormy day. But in that tree was a bird's nest, and in that bird's nest was a mother and her family of little birds, safely riding out the storm in the security of their nest.

That is true peace, knowing "peace" when we are in the middle of the storms of life.

We all know that life throws many storms our way. To know true peace is to know we are safe in our Father's arms, under his wings, no matter what storm, or fire, or flood is happening in our lives.
I am thankful that my cousin is safe under the Lord's wings as he rehabilitates after his most serious accident; that my friend's son is safe in His nest as the storms of cancer treatment blow about him; that my sister and her husband are secure in His Love as they face his ALS treatment and care.
I am thankful that no matter what storms may blow into my life, my families' lives, and my friends' lives, that the Lord will keep us safe in our nests, and that we can walk with peace.
I am thankful for the peace that passes our understanding (Philippians 4:7), even in the midst of storms.