Monday

Motherhood Is a Series of Letting Goes + Giveaway

Motherhood is a series of letting goes. 

credit
 Mother and child—our lives together begin with a fragile strand linking one human heart to another, buried deep. But there is a knowing. 

God places babies between our arms and beneath our hearts, and we cradle them safely there. We feel every movement, every stretch, every hiccup; it is sweet, this mystical, symbiotic relationship. As they draw life from us, the circle comes around, and we draw life from them. But soon the space binds, the nourishment wanes, and the letting go begins. 

After birth, we cradle them still between our arms and beneath our hearts, but now we must share them.


credit

Sharing is good, for joy is meant to be given away; it multiplies as the love grows. Fathers' arms cradle them. Grandmothers and grandfathers share a hug for the first time, and we realized that motherhood is a series of letting goes. 

As they learn to walk, they walk away from, not toward us, for our arms release them to explore new places and new people. But they always return, and we cradle them, sometimes only in sleep, because they are busy, busy. 

In quiet moments we whisper prayers over them, fold their little hands to pray, and tell stories of a giant-slaying, earth-shaking, miracle-working God as we watch their eyes widen at the thought of someone larger than those they see. 

credit
They begins to grasp and then believe in a Father even bigger, kinder, wiser, and more wonderful than their earthly fathers—one who holds them between his arms and beneath his heart. And we release their souls to him, trusting that he, in the fullness of time, will draw them to himself. 

Motherhood is a series of letting goes. 

For a while, everything they need to know, we know, but they are smart, and we are limited. Soon we guide them to other wise teachers, and we release them again. 

Motherhood is a series of letting goes. 

Then the day arrives when all that we have prayed for and pointed them toward is no longer on the horizon but is today. And we know, and they know, that it is time. The future has become the present, and to hold them any longer would be to hinder them. 

Motherhood is a series of letting goes. 


We hold them between our arms and beneath our hearts, and we whisper prayers over them to a giant-slaying, earth-shaking, miracle-working God. We remind them of their calling as image-bearers of Christ, to let their lights shine before men that they may see their good works and glorify their Father who is in heaven. 

And we commit them to God. 




They may drive away just as they have done other times. We know they’ll be back, but this time it is different. It’s not a weekend. It’s not a mission trip. It’s not a semester. It’s a life—a good life—one that we prayed for and anticipated. It is an exclamation point at the end of many mothering years. 

And we cry, 

because motherhood is a series of letting goes.






To subscribe, sign up below & VALIDATE the Feedburner email sent to your inbox.
Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner











Hungry for God is on Facebook! Will you take a moment and LIKE my page? CLICK HERE to help HFG share 5-minute devotions.
 

 

 

25 comments:

  1. Very true! Motherhood is full of "letting go"s...

    Just the other day, we were able to spend a few hours with one of our sons and daughter-in-law, whom we haven't seen in a year. It was hard to let go, but we did - we stayed out of whatever situations they found themselves in and let them carve their life together. And when we got together for a few hours, I was reminded that, even though the apple falls from the tree, it doesn't fall very far!

    God is good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those fleeting hours are precious, aren't they, Lisa? So glad you got to spend time with your dear ones. Thanks for stopping by.

      Delete
  2. HI Lori! I am coming over from Sharing His Beauty.

    I can so relate to this post. Both my daughter and son are launched, married and out of state. What??? Why did they do that? LOL! but I know that is what I raised them to do. Be independent and make their own decisions.

    It is all about letting go, and trying to move on ourselves. It's not the end, just a wonderful beginning. I promise!
    Ceil

    ReplyDelete
  3. I also relate to this post. I have gone from a house full of kids to just two left at home and it is quite bitter sweet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Bittersweet" -- a good description, Lynn. *sniff*

      Delete
  4. Oh, yes, motherhood is indeed a series of letting go. Your words are so sweet and so true, Lori. I resonate completely with you here. I'm an "almost-empty-nester" and it's tough to see them moving farther down the road. But as you've so eloquently said, it's what we've been preparing them for their entire lives. Beautiful and encouraging words, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beth,
      Sometimes I say, "Why did I do such a good job preparing them to leave????" Waaaaah!

      Delete
  5. I loved this! I have 2 daughters and 2 weddings in 2014. I'm learning about letting go....

    ReplyDelete
  6. You have a wonderful blog!! I'm your newest GFC follower from the “Fun Friday“ blog hop - this is my blog if you wanted to follow back: godsgrowinggarden.com
    Thanks
    Angie

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful! My daughter who is also my youngest child starts school full-time in September. Whilst I am looking forward to more time, I will miss the special time I have enjoyed with my little girl whilst here brothers are at school.
    Thanks for sharing at Essential Fridays.
    Blessings,
    Mel from Essential Thing Devotions

    ReplyDelete
  8. Timely Lori!! My fifth child is moving out. Thanks for linking up with me so faithfully over at WholeHearted Wednesdays.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well said, Lori.
    As our gifts from God learn to be independent, we mother's learn to let them be under the ever watchful eye of our Father. It's a hard learning curve for all of us. However, with the grace of the Lord, there is great joy when we come together again in family fellowship.
    The nest may be empty for many days and even years, but there are blessed moments when our children and their family fills the guest bedrooms with love and laughter again and again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Carolyn, the times when they come home -- multiplied, no less-- are great fun! I love it when my house is filled again :)

      Delete
  10. Oh my goodness! This article really opened my eyes! I never even thought about creating selfish individuals by being an unselfish mom! Thank you!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love your book! Just entered your contest. Thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  12. My oldest of four is getting married next month and moving an hour and a half away. It is not that far, but it still seems so. Thanks so much for the giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Our oldest is about to become a teenager. We are treasuring these precious years together as we prepare for the future.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow! This was beautiful. Thanks for posting it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am praying that this time passes slowly to when I may have to fully let go of my now 11 year old daughter, it has been me and her going through difficult odds together with God all these years of her young life and it is still challenging on us. She is my heart, my beautiful and most precious gift from the Lord next to my salvation and what I keep getting up for each and every day. I only pray that she is able to at least fully enjoy these last years of her youth with the heart of a young and joyful girl as much of her past childhood was robbed from those with selfish agendas.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm in the very thick of this right now with my oldest daughter about to graduate high school and turn 18. Getting a first job and off to college in the fall. Oh yes, I'm learning about this letting go. Some are harder than other times but I am so thankful there is a God who is faithful to help us through these times.

    ReplyDelete
  17. You said it so eloquently. The hardest part of having a child is to know that you have to let him or her go When my daughter started kindergarten last year I have to admit that it broke my heart. She let go of my hand when we got to the classroom and told me she wanted to go in alone. I was so proud that I had taught her to have faith in herself but when I got home I cried for hours. After reading what you wrote I feel so much better about it.
    Laurie Emerson
    lauraemerson17 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  18. You are definitely a Mother, your loving words and beautiful heartfelt thoughts tell us so! Letting go is not always easy, but God always tells us that in giving we receive also. My daughter has been a gift from God that keeps on giving and in that we are both blessed! Sharing our children with the world, also makes it a better place and for better people too,especially when God's light and love shines through!! Happy Mother's Day! <3

    ReplyDelete
  19. i can relate so much on this .thanks for sharing with us

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is such a true post. For a long time I thought my house would never be empty because they kept coming back home for one reason or another, then it was the grandchildren who were coming to live with me. But now they are truly all in their own homes and it is lonely. But I am so proud of what they and their families have become.

    ReplyDelete

Did this devotion speak to you? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below and join the conversation.