Releasing Children to God

 
 
Isaiah 41:10
Do not fear, for I am with you.
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely, I will help you,
Surely, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Releasing a child to fulfill their God given destiny does not always come easy for a mom. After years of nurturing, encouraging, protecting and teaching, there came a time for me to step back and allow my daughter to step out on the path that God had planned for her. I had to release my plans and allow God to direct my daughter toward His plan. However, God had to do a work in me to pry my fingers off the control button. 

The year my daughter turned 18 years old, the Lord taught me a lesson about letting her go. On September 8, 2008, and my daughter and three friends left our home in North Carolina to drive to Texas to take one of her friends to Mexico to work in an orphanage. Their plan was to drive to the gulf coast and spend the night with a family member in Pensacola, Florida, then drive along the gulf to Brownsville, Texas and then on to Mexico. 

I perceived my daughter was heading into a dangerous situation because a hurricane was moving in the Gulf of Mexico toward Brownsville, Texas. Nothing I said would change their plans to leave and travel to Texas. The first night of their trip, as a tremendous storm raged outside my window, I prayed for protection for my daughter and her friends. After a sleepless night, I woke up with the assurance that God was protecting my daughter and her friends. The next morning, as I sat with my bible marked at Isaiah 41;10 my eyes fell on the scripture.

Do not fear, for I am with you.
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely, I will help you,
Surely, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

The Lord gave me a scripture and a vision. In the vision, I saw my daughter as a two-year-old while we were preparing to cross a busy street. At that age, she would often say, “Me, do it!” She would pull at my hand to walk across the street alone. Because I knew the danger, there was nothing that could stop me from continuing to hold her hand. I loved her enough to protect her. I felt the Lord gently whisper to me. “Your daughter is not within reach of your hand, but I will always have her hand.”

That morning God lifted the weight of worry and fear from my shoulders. I understood God had the situation under control and I could trust Him with my daughter. I believe I released my daughter, that day, to be free to be who God called her to be. Since that day, I have had many opportunities to react in worry and fear. Each opportunity brought with it the reminder of how God was faithful to protect and lead my daughter every step down her path of life.
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Several months later, my daughter moved to Florida about 12 hours away from home. As I released her to the Lord, I believe it freed her to hear from the Lord. After she moved back home 8 months later, she shared there was a song that was almost always on in the car when she drove to work. The lyrics were: “Please don’t fight these hands that are holding you. My hands are holding you.” She said she couldn’t get away from that song. I believe God was speaking to my daughter through a song. God gave me a vision, and He gave her a song. We both got the message! Today my daughter is a wife and mother of three beautiful children. She has stepped into her destiny, and I have learned that God’s way is perfect, and I can trust Him.