Letting Go

 Monday we took our butterflies to the playground and let them fly free.

We wanted to keep them in their cage and continue to observe their color wings.

We wanted to keep feeding them sugar water and orange slices.

                              We wished we could hold them and keep them forever.

                                               But it was time for them to be on their own.

It was time for them to find their own food, lay eggs, and continue the butterfly life cycle.

We had to let them go. Goodbye, butterflies!

Maybe we'll see you flying around the playground when we go to recess.

Our children are growing up, too. While we enjoy caring for them and watching them as they meet new milestones in their development, our goal is to see them become independent. This means we have to prepare them to face new challenges, to take on new responsibilities, and to persevere when the tasks are difficult. We won't always be around to give them all the answers or do everything for them. So we have to teach them to rely on their Creator for the strength and wisdom to do what they're called to do and to be the best they can be. 

"Train up a child in the way he should go;

    even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 ESV