From the day of birth, to high school days, each is a stepping stone to a new page in life. Parents proudly watch their children make steps of growth year after year until the day comes they have to move to the side and set them free to try their wings.

     The book is still in the making, several chapters have been written, yet there’s so much more to come. We can't read the ending first, as we often do in other books. The suspense grows...what happens next? Where do they go from here?

     As a parent, it’s one giant step. You have lived life long enough to know the harshness of the world, yet, you also know the joy in a fulfilled life of giving and receiving. You’ve given your love, time, energy and much more, to see that your child had every possible opportunity for a good education, a moral education, and for some, a spiritual education. In return, most of you have received back tenfold from your children, love, respect, and well adjusted young men and women ready and equipped to start the new adventure and write a new chapter in the book called, ‘Life’.

     Now it’s time to release that long stretched cord you’ve held on to ever so gently. As you feel the pressure of resistance, you reluctantly, but proudly release it and let them go.

     For those who have trained up their child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, they will have a happy, productive young adult who is ready to meet the challenges of life, equipped with the Word of God and a trust in Jesus Christ.

     If you are a parent who feels you may have ‘missed the mark’, don’t despair, it’s not too late!

1- Start now by digging into the golden nuggets of the Word of God. There you’ll find hope.
2- Pray daily; and keep on praying and trusting in the promises of God’s Word. He is faithful and just to perform it. When doubt comes in like a flood, remember his faithfulness.

3- Speak and pray faith-filled words over your children, those words will drop into your child’s heart and produce a faith-filled hope in them. Negativity breeds negative responses.

4- Give them praise. Be alert to each accomplishment and praise them for it.

5- Be a book for them to read. They learn much by example, even after they leave home, they’re still watching you and see much more than you realize.

6- Give them space. Allow them to make mistakes, be there for them if they need you, but allow them to learn from those mistakes.

7- Love them. Unconditional love points the way to Christ.

8- Relax, think on the good times you've shared.

9- Trust your child to follow their heart.

10- Remember, you’re still growing too. Allow room for error and know that God knows the end of the story. He wrote the book!