Saying, "Good bye"

Oh, Father, just look at her there! You made her so beautiful and so grown up! The first day I saw her, she was pink and perfect with a fluff of dark hair. Now she’s 18 and tanned and blond and still perfect. She’s sorting through clothes and shoes and books, trying to decide which things to take to college and which things she should leave behind. Absorbed in her task, she doesn’t know that I am missing her already.

When You gave her to me, in spite of all the doctors’ predictions and against all the odds, I knew that one day I’d have to let her go, because that’s what mothers do when daughters grow up. But no one ever prepared me for the ache in my heart. As we moved through the years, changing her diapers, nursing her “boo-boos”, and chasing away monsters, I thought she’d always be my baby. As we passed through each step of her baby years – the sitting up, crawling, then walking and then running – I was sure that she’d never leave. Then she went to school. She’s so smart that she left other kids in her academic dust! She swam, played softball, ran cross country, played the saxophone and started a Bible study in school. She depended on me less and less, allowing me to “baby” her only when she had a bad cold or the flu. Then came the teen years where everything became a drama and no problem was a small one. There were days when I wanted to put her in a giant canon and shoot her to the moon! Most days, she was so sweet and loving and gentle that I just wanted to keep her close forever.

But now she’s 18 and college is a long distance from home. She became Your daughter when she was saved a few years back, and I know that You’ll take good care of her, so Father, could you please just fix my breaking heart? Help me to be strong for her on this last scary day before we get on that plane to leave. Hold me together so I don’t turn into a big crying ninny! Father, I love her, so I give my precious girl to You because it is time to do it. I pray for Your blessing, in Jesus’ name, amen.