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Picture this. You’ve just been at an event where your child gets a helium balloon. You tie it around their little wrist or to the stroller you are pushing. All of a sudden you hear a cry and you look up and the balloon is sailing off into the sky. You feel so hopeless and so helpless. It’s gone. There’s nothing you can do. It’s impossible to bring it back. After all these thoughts and emotions run through your head, you look at your child. They are staring at you with their big eyes expecting you to fix it, but you can’t.
When I was praying with a group of women the other day, someone prayed for someone else to “let go” of their child. Now, I am not condemning the prayer because I have prayed the exact same thing for others as well, BUT it struck me in that moment that “letting go” can seem like the little red balloon that we once had possession of now sailing off into the blue sky. Once we let go of the balloon, we have no idea of where it’s going or where it’s going to land. There is a gut-wrenching feeling that it will never be found again.
I have to believe that many of us feel the same way about “letting go” of our children. That once we “let go” of them, we are left with a gut-wrenching feeling of hopelessness and helplessness, just like watching a balloon fade away into the sky.
As I was thinking about this, the Lord rephrased the words in my mind from “let go” to “release them to Me.” Release them to Me. Release them to Me. Wow, doesn’t that change our emotions? Releasing our children to God has a much different feel than letting them go.
As opposed to watching them disappear into the sky, releasing them over to Father God is way more beautiful. If you have someone that you know that you need to let go of, I want you stop right now and picture our Father in heaven. Picture His beautiful smile, His colorful throne, His loving embrace, His power, His protection, His kindness, His beauty, His unending love, His compassion, His mercy, His purity, His understand, His strength, and His forgiveness.
Now picture releasing each one of your children (or anyone else you need to let go of) into His loving arms. Release their trials, their hurts, their wounds, their troubles, their circumstances over to Him as well. Let no burden remain on your shoulders and completely release all of them over to our Heavenly Father.
We know that God loves our friends and family even more than we do. We know that God has “plans to prosper them and not to harm them, to give them a hope and a future.” God tells us over and over in Scripture not to worry. Release your worries to the One who can take them.
