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Learning to Trust

by Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur

On a beautiful morning recently, a group of moms and I gathered at a local park. As children climbed, jumped, and slid on the playscapes we discussed how nerve-wracking it can be to watch them. Sometimes it seems as if the engineers who design these jungle gyms purposely try to give parents a heart attack. There are open ladders that lead to platforms five and six feet off of the ground and slides that begin high in the air! With David now four and Isaac two-and-a-half, this is the first summer that I haven't had to hover over a child and climb with him, trying to guide his every step. This year, they run off with their friends, eager to be independent and enjoy the thrills that await. This year, I am trusting that their guardian angels will guard their steps, and that if they do fall, they won't be hurt too badly. I watch nearby, talk with my friends, and say a silent prayer.

I know that this is just the beginning of my letting go. As parents, we have to trust that God will take care of His children. We know that we are not the ones in control. We do what we can, but there comes those moments when we must "Let Go and Let God." We trust that our child will remember to stop at the corner the way we asked him to when riding his bike, to not talk to strangers, to stay safe. I can only imagine the fear that goes through a parent's heart when a child pulls out of the driveway for the first time in a car, alone, and the joy that results when she returns home. It must take a great deal of courage to have a child leave home as an adult, to remain confident that you have raised him well, and that he or she is ready to take on the world.

I am early on in my parenting journey, but I know, God willing, that those days will come, and I hope that God will guide both me and my children as we navigate these unknown waters. They are beginning to take their first independent steps into the world at large, and I am beginning to let go. It is a process that will continue for the rest of our lives.

Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur is editor of The Spiritual Woman Newsletter and author of "Letters to Mary from a Young Mother" (iUniverse, 2004). She has a Master of Arts Degree in Applied Theology from Elms College.