Catch And Release

Well here we go again. Another one of our boys is getting married this weekend. Where did the time go? It seemed like just yesterday that Eric was climbing on the kitchen counter, making faces in the bathroom mirror, eating watermelon on the dining room carpet, playing He-man and Skeletor with his brother Todd. Wow! What happened? Now he's all grown up, lives in another state and time zone, and is getting married on Saturday.
I often wonder if we did a good job raising the kids. Will they make it on their own? Will their values reflect a love for God and for neighbor? Will they live out the faith that we tried to instill upon them? We laid the foundation. Will they build on it or seek another? When they were little, we made ourselves available to catch the kids should they fall. Not that we don't attempt to do that now. However, the time comes when you must let go. I'm not talking removal from their lives, but the willingness to release them to this thing we call real life. It's hard to see your kids fall, maybe get hurt, and struggle. But that's how they learn, that's how they grow and mature.
So Saturday, once again we let go, sending another one of our kids out into the world to begin a new journey called marriage. I have no doubt he'll make it. I have no doubt his new wife will be by his side, no matter what. We are passing the baton on to her as it now becomes her responsibility to catch him when he falls and to help him back up just as we did these past 2 decades. Pray for us. Pray for Eric and Andrea. It is much appreciated.