This week I’m sharing with you another devotional from my first book, Image Seeker, in which I wrote about a “moment” of time from when we were raising our children. I remember thinking the hardest days were when they were all young…but little did I know that as they grew older…God might ask more of them than I was willing to share.
The details of this story pertain to our second daughter, where God led her to go for a year and how it sure kept me on my knees while she was gone. His plan is not always what we would select for our children…but through it we are taught that His ways are perfect and that sometimes, we have to be willing to loosen our grip for His glory.
Just like last week, I’ve included questions at the end to ponder this coming week. I hope you enjoy!
“I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart” (Psalm 40:8).
Letting Go
Through most of our middle child’s high school days, she thought she would someday work in the field of music. Megan is a pianist, self-taught guitarist, and shares her love of the Lord vocally. It was just always a given that this was the field that she would explore.
But as Megan entered her senior year, her spirit became troubled. She felt the Lord was telling her that music was not to be her vocation; yet she didn’t sense a strong leading into any other area. She had a passion for missions and wondered if that was where the Lord was leading her. Her youth pastor at the time knew of her struggle and invited her to go to a program at our local university where members of a group called “Mission Year” would be sharing. Megan came home that day pumped and ready to send in her application.
Unfortunately, I didn’t share her excitement. If she was accepted into this ministry, she would be living in the inner city of Atlanta, walking the streets by herself on a daily basis. The thought of sending my beautiful 18-year-old daughter into those dangerous surroundings for a year wasn’t what I envisioned for her, and I began to argue with the Lord. I wanted Him to understand that this was asking too much of her and of me to have her live and work in these precarious surroundings.
As I was struggling with all of this my husband, in his infinite wisdom, asked me to remember what we had done with each of our children after they were born. He wanted me to think back to the times we stood in front of our church and dedicated each precious baby to the Lord. We vowed to raise them in a Christian home, nurturing them and doing our best to prepare them to serve the Lord. Dan asked me if we had put the stipulation in our vow that we would raise our children for the Lord as long as they stayed in our area where it was safe. Of course we hadn’t; we had promised the Lord that we were dedicating them for His service wherever that may be.
I began to loosen my grip and allowed Megan to serve where the Lord was calling her to go. That didn’t mean it was an easy year for any of us. To complete her volunteer and ministry tasks, Megan walked the inner-city streets during the day, many times walking alone to and from houses in her community. She was often in dangerous situations, being mistaken on several occasions as a prostitute, for, as she puts it, “drug dealers and prostitutes were the ones populating the streets during the day”. She was yelled at, followed, and propositioned; but the Lord was so faithful. In every situation, He protected her and got her to safety before she could be harmed.
The Lord not only protected her during that year, but He also blessed her abundantly for her faithfulness. She had the privilege of forming relationships with many of her neighbors as she shared God’s love with them. She developed courage that amazed me as she learned to put her complete trust in her Savior. She learned the importance of being “Jesus with skin on” to many people that had never met her Lord. And she truly learned that wherever God places you, He promises to be faithful and supply all of your needs!
What are you holding onto that you need to loosen your grip? Are you struggling with letting your children go or allowing yourself to follow His leading? Remember that as Christians, everything we have is the Lord’s to use as He desires; we are just the caregivers. What a privilege that is, and it is only when we surrender everything to the Lord and allow Him to have complete control that we can become more like Him!
Image Seeker Prayer – “Father, thank You so much for allowing us to be a part of your plan. Help us to loosen our grip on the persons or things that are keeping us from surrendering to your will, and then please hold our hand as we trust You even if we are called to unknown territory!”
Questions to ponder this week:
Why do we desire to be in control of every aspect of our life?
What are you holding onto and not allowing the Lord complete control? Is it your finances? Your children? Your marriage? Your job? Whatever it is, loosen your grip and give Him full reign so that you can become more like Him.
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