If anyone dealt with an unpredictable and unstable world, it was Jesus. Yet, Jesus was straightforward when it came to His instruction on worry. His basic adage was, “don’t,” followed by a mini-discourse on food, drink, clothing, birds of the air, and lilies in the field which translates into, “God’s got this.”
God does have our children, no matter the age or stage. He is with them, beside them, before them, and for them. Which turns out to be the only saving grace for us as moms as we learn to wade through these new and distant waters.
After four years, I’ve learned that loving our young adults from a distance looks like this:
- keeping our advice behind closed lips—they’ll ask for help when they need it
- holding back our big opinions—because they get in the way of Jesus
- encouraging and believing in their dreams—because they are everything to them
- refraining from over-expressing our fears and concerns—because we taught them to have faith
- listening with palms up and hearts open—because our adult kids are full of new wisdom
When we embrace our new role, we come to find that our kids are stronger than we knew, smarter than we imagined, braver than we’d ever be, and often more compassionate and loving than most.
The thing is, as hard hard hard as it is for us to watch our kids make poor decisions, to observe their suffering, hear about their brokenness and heartache, we must. These are the things that help our kids transform and evolve, to learn from their mistakes, overcome adversity, steel their resolve, and ultimately find out who they are.
Mommas, somehow, we survived and muddled through life to get where we are today. We figured stuff out, rose above, learned, triumphed, and came into our own. Thanks be to God. The same God who will guide and comfort our precious kin.
Our prayers and unconditional love are the greatest gifts and forms of support we have to offer our young adults. The stronger we are, the stronger they become. Pray for me, and I’ll pray for you to remember this truth.
