May 6, 2026 It’s somehow both the easiest part of parenting and the hardest part of parenting. This coming weekend, Mother’s Day weekend, my son, Jake, will turn 19. I’m still adjusting to being the mom of an “adult” child. There are parts of it that are fantastic. It’s amazing to watch him as he takes his kindness, joy, determination, talents, humor and faith into the world. Jake is independent and trustworthy, and he doesn’t need constant supervision and care. Our relationship continues to shift to where he needs less of me telling him what to do and more conversations that help him figure things out on his own. It’s an awesome time in parenting! But it’s also incredibly difficult to turn a child loose into the world. It’s hard to watch a child struggle when stepping in isn’t possible or appropriate. It’s hard to watch a child’s problems get bigger – from scraped knees and school drama to hard decisions, broken hearts, financial struggles… It’s hard to surrender control. It’s an awful time in parenting. I find it interesting that the part of parenting I struggle with most right now – surrendering control – is also the part of my faith I struggle with most. The same way it’s hard for me to let Jake be Jake and not get hung up on what I want to happen or how I think he should behave, it’s hard for me to let God be God and not get hung up on what I want to happen or how I think He should behave. I’m grateful God gave me the best mom – a mom who, through her example, taught me how to be an awesome mom in all the phases of parenting, including parenting adult children (and her adult children – I include my dad in that – are a lot to handle). And I’m grateful God gave me amazing people in my life who, when I’m wasting piles and piles of energy worrying or stressing about something out of my control, remind me to surrender it to Jesus, the one who can handle everything, and who lift me and my intentions in prayer. As we move into our celebrations of Mother’s Day, it feels like a good time to thank God for and pray for our mothers and the people who have taken on maternal roles in our lives, and it seems like a good time to thank the people who have been there for the easy parts and the hard parts of our lives. Happy Mother’s Day. |
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