{"id":130,"date":"2014-07-16T23:00:26","date_gmt":"2014-07-17T03:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/?p=130"},"modified":"2019-06-25T13:43:16","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T17:43:16","slug":"are-you-ready-to-let-me-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/?p=130","title":{"rendered":"“Are you ready to let me go?”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAre you ready to let me go?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

She smiled as she said these words to me outside the security gate in the airport.\u00a0\u00a0 Her plane would be boarding soon, and she\u2019d be off to Peru for a week to teach at an orphanage.\u00a0\u00a0 I looked at her sweet face, full of anticipation.\u00a0 Even at 25, she looks so young that the ticket agent had asked if she was old enough to travel alone.<\/p>\n

Am I ready to let you go?<\/p>\n

You\u2019re the three year old who subsisted a year on chicken nuggets and peaches.\u00a0 You\u2019re the six year old who would only wear dresses with flowers on them.\u00a0 Just yesterday you were the teenager in braids.\u00a0 You\u2019re 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\u2019s left on mine!<\/p>\n

Am I ready to let you go?<\/p>\n

For so many years it\u2019s been the three of us \u2013 you and your brother and me.\u00a0 There were the dark years, early after the divorce when we all grieved not seeing each other every day.\u00a0 You and I would hang onto each other until the last minute.\u00a0 I would work into the night, filling my time until you both returned home.\u00a0 But God is faithful.\u00a0 He restored \u201cthe years the locust have eaten.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0He healed our wounds.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em> Our family is loving and close.\u00a0 I love laughing with you and the joy you bring to my life.\u00a0\u00a0And now,\u00a0you are a young woman, surprising me with your wisdom and maturity and your rock-solid faith.<\/p>\n

Am I ready to let you go?<\/p>\n

Is anyone ever ready to let their loved one go?\u00a0 Neighbors move, co-workers leave, lives are cut short, children grow, people age and change.\u00a0 Whether friends or family, they leave holes in our lives where our hearts met.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em> It\u2019s inevitable that the joy of love means the pain of loss.\u00a0 It\u2019s the flip side of the coin -we only mourn those we love.\u00a0 Comfort is found when we know we are losing them to something better.\u00a0 Especially as believers, we are willing and eager to see them follow God \u2013 even if it means away from us.<\/p>\n

Am I ready to let you go?<\/p>\n

Your eyes are shining and you are eager to board this plane alone and go where you know God has called you.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Am I ready to let you go?<\/p>\n

Only to Him so you can follow His plan for your life.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Only to Him so we can journey together in His love.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Only to Him.\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

But come back soon, and we\u2019ll share stories of His goodness.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cAre you ready to let me go?\u201d She smiled as she said these words to me outside the security gate in the airport.\u00a0\u00a0 Her plane would be boarding soon, and she\u2019d be off to Peru for a week to teach at an orphanage.\u00a0\u00a0 I looked at her sweet face, full of anticipation.\u00a0 Even at 25, … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Allison-in-Peru-150x150-1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2sCJ7-26","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=130"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":382,"href":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130\/revisions\/382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gingerwarner.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}