“Are you ready to let me go?”
“Are you ready to let me go?”
She smiled as she said these words to me outside the security gate in the airport. Her plane would be boarding soon, and she’d be off to Peru for a week to teach at an orphanage. I looked at her sweet face, full of anticipation. Even at 25, she looks so young that the ticket agent had asked if she was old enough to travel alone.
Am I ready to let you go?
You’re the three year old who subsisted a year on chicken nuggets and peaches. You’re the six year old who would only wear dresses with flowers on them. Just yesterday you were the teenager in braids. You’re the animal-lover responsible for every pet we ever owned, and the cross-country runner who consistently downs everything on your plate and asks to finish what’s left on mine!
Am I ready to let you go?
For so many years it’s been the three of us – you and your brother and me. There were the dark years, early after the divorce when we all grieved not seeing each other every day. You and I would hang onto each other until the last minute. I would work into the night, filling my time until you both returned home. But God is faithful. He restored “the years the locust have eaten.” He healed our wounds. Our family is loving and close. I love laughing with you and the joy you bring to my life. And now, you are a young woman, surprising me with your wisdom and maturity and your rock-solid faith.
Am I ready to let you go?
Is anyone ever ready to let their loved one go? Neighbors move, co-workers leave, lives are cut short, children grow, people age and change. Whether friends or family, they leave holes in our lives where our hearts met. It’s inevitable that the joy of love means the pain of loss. It’s the flip side of the coin -we only mourn those we love. Comfort is found when we know we are losing them to something better. Especially as believers, we are willing and eager to see them follow God – even if it means away from us.
Am I ready to let you go?
Your eyes are shining and you are eager to board this plane alone and go where you know God has called you.
Am I ready to let you go?
Only to Him so you can follow His plan for your life.
Only to Him so we can journey together in His love.
Only to Him.
But come back soon, and we’ll share stories of His goodness.