Psalm 81
One of the most challenging aspects of parenting is letting go.
It begins when you place that infant in his or her crib the first night or two
after you bring the child home, listening for each breath, trusting as you walk
away that he or she will be safe through the night. It continues when you turn
loose of clutching fingers, allowing the child to take first steps on his/her
own. Before long you are walking beside a two-wheel bicycle. holding the seat
while your child balances, and then, turning loose. In a few short years you
are handing him/her car keys, kissing him/her goodbye at college, and on and on
it goes. Parenting is a series of moments when we turn loose of that most
precious of treasures.
For the Creator God, there seems a parallel, for in God's
wisdom, you and I are allowed to make choices that empower our own steps.
Sometimes we make good choices...sometimes not. God allows this freedom so that
faith is not a coercive journey of blind conformity, but a willing choice that
exercises the mind, heart, and spirit. God allows our "stubborn
hearts" to "follow their own counsels." But he also provides a
way back...redemption in the midst of our wrong choices.
The cross casts a shadow over our rebellion, calling our
stubborn hearts to repentance. You see, God, like a loving parent who
lets go, is close by to pick the wounded up and to celebrate with us when when
with God's help, we take those first steps, that first ride, and on and
on.
Prayer: Thank you dear God for the gift of freedom, for
allowing us to take each step, for letting go, and for being near. Amen.
Jim Abernathy
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