Letting Go

These last few days, our son Caleb has been at the Springs Rescue Mission. Our good friends, Kevin and Patti Diffee who attend First Presbyterian, invited him to go with their church youth group. So Caleb spent the last three days and nights at a homeless shelter spending time with the homeless and serving in different ways. It was really tough to let him go. He's our first and oldest kid. We haven't let him go stay in a setting like this, outside of our wings, except for Christian camp last summer and sleepovers, let alone among a bunch of homeless people! But God, in His infinitely inspired way, has taught us two things through this. First, we need to be more open and less judgemental about the homeless. Even before he left, we went through the litany of warnings and cautions. Tonight, we went to the closing dinner and heard the testimony of the middle school kids about their encounters. Amazingly, none of them were killed, beaten up, or even robbed by the homeless (although Caleb got a chance to talk with a man who had killed someone). The stories were of how caring the people were, how they showed love and community with each other, and how they desire to find a better life. God opened up our eyes to some hidden prejudices we held, and how we need to see others as Jesus does. From the different testimonies shared, God allowed this group of 18 middle schoolers to bring hope as they spent time and served those in need. The kids shared over and over that their eyes had been opened as they spent time and got to know some of the homeless here in downtown Colorado Springs.

Second, in letting Caleb go on the Urban Immersion trip, we had to let him go and trust God for His protection over our son. God gave Wendy a beautiful Psalm - Psalm 91. David starts with, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Later in verses 9 and 10 he continues, "If you make the Most High your dwelling, even the LORD, who is my refuge, then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent." God would be our son's protector. He would keep Caleb from harm, He was giving us his promise and telling us to claim it. All of the worrying about Caleb's safety didn't have to be, since God would be his refuge. We need to let go of our kids and let God take control of their lives, and trust that He knows the best way and will keep them safe along the way. We will be the first to say there are many times we struggle with being overly protective and hanging on too tight, but God is slowly teaching us to surrender and let go of our kids. We are learning the only way we can do this as parents is to entrust them to God and claim God's promises for them as we let them go.