Did you have a child graduate from high school this year? Are you finding yourself wanting to slow the passing of the next few months before “life as we know it” changes. It’s a time to let (or sometimes push) your son or daughter to test their wings, to become more independent, to find their own paths which are independent of yours. A big part of us wants to hang on, but we also know that we have to let go.
Guess what! I don’t know if this will fill you with joy or tears, but being a parent to adult children is a whole new ball game. You’re in for a new learning stage—for both the parents and young adults.
Here are my thoughts from almost 20 years ago when my youngest finished high school. I kept reading the story of Hannah over and over. To read the story of Hannah and her son Samuel, open your Bibles to 1 Samuel 1 & 2.
Hannah prayed for a child
for years, with tears
until she had no words left
as she knelt and swayed in agony
body and soul crying, “Oh, God, remember me!”
She named him Samuel, “God hears,”
and dedicated the next years
to raising her son.
Hers to enjoy, love, and train
and hold in her heart—
which was God’s.
Too soon he was weaned,
too soon for her heart,
but in faith she released her child
from her feeble, human arms
to God’s all-powerful embrace.
And Hannah loved Samuel from a distance,
sewing and praying.
and God loved them both,
mother and son,
in their separated lives.
Like Hannah, I prayed for a child,
healthy and robust,
and was blessed with a son
whose often precarious health reminded me
that God’s arms embraced us both
and gave us life.
Like Hannah, I gave him back to God,
and God blessed us
and let me hold him close for 18 years,
in my home,
in my heart
which is God’s.
My prayer now, as I send him out in the world
is again like Hannah’s.
“Oh, God, let him,
like Samuel,
hear your voice call his name,
recognize his master,
and say,
“Speak, Lord. Your servant hears you.”
Kathleen S Evenhouse 