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Radical Surrender
“LORD, I know that
people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps.” Jeremiah 10:23 (NIV)
She stood in front of the church,
holding on to her two babies for dear life. It was supposed to be one of the
most beautiful moments of her life.
But it was the most beautifully
terrible moment she could ever imagine.
My friend Rachel ached to be a
mother. Having suffered two devastating, later-term miscarriages, she walked
this world heavy with grief.
When the state caseworker asked
to place infant siblings with her, she believed God was replacing her load with
joy.
God had seen her, and He had
redeemed her pain with these two precious children.
She completely reorganized her
life to parent them. She quit her job. She decorated their nurseries.
She battled fatigue and met the
needs of two babies that had experienced more trauma in their short little
lives than Rachel ever had.
For two years, it looked like she
would get to be their mother permanently, as it seemed unlikely their birth
mother would regain custody.
Rachel and her husband were the
first choice as an adoptive family. They were so close to having the family
they had dreamed of, until the caseworker called and said they were returning
to court.
“The birth
mother has sustained sobriety and wants her kids back. Her attorney is fighting
for it, and the judge is favorable. You should prepare yourselves that the
children will be returned home.”
Home? Weren’t these children
already home? Wasn’t she the one who had snuggled them, fed them … a stable,
nurturing woman who would raise them in the ways of Jesus?
Wasn’t she their
mother?
And so, she stood in front of the
congregation that day, holding her babies. A day so bright, so hopeful, but so
awful.
Because it was Mother’s Day, and
Rachel and her husband were dedicating these children to God as their
parents — knowing that within the week, the caseworker would come to
take them away.
Rachel knew it wasn’t for her to
determine the steps of her children. But she also knew it wasn’t the
caseworker’s path either.
As Jeremiah
10:23 says, “LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not
for them to direct their steps.”
It was for God to direct her
children’s path.
Rachel and her husband became
forever parents to their children the minute they accepted the assignment from
the Lord to parent them.
But they also knew their children
weren’t theirs but rather God’s. So, they dedicated them back to God, even
though their hearts were breaking. Even though they couldn’t see the end of
their family’s journey.
What an incredible act of faith.
What an incredible act of
surrender.
Have you ever had to radically
surrender your children to the Lord?
Perhaps there was a scary
diagnosis. You could be a frustrated stepparent, or perhaps there’s been a long
season of miscommunication with a child.
As Christian parents, sometimes
we’re afraid to be completely vulnerable about our fear and pain when it comes
to our children.
Sometimes it’s even harder to
acknowledge that it’s really up to God to direct our child’s next steps.
As parents, we all experience
times of frustration, confusion and loss.
But if we can trust that there is
Something Bigger guiding the way, we can do amazingly tough things. Because
then it isn’t up to us.
It’s up to Him.
And what incredible hope we have
in that surrender. What incredible hope we have for the journey ahead.
We can trust that He is leading
us somewhere good, even in our moments of deepest ache and loss.
Lord, I’m so
thankful that You are the Something Bigger who gives me the grace and strength
to face hard times as a parent. I trust in Your overwhelming love for me and my
children. I trust in You to direct our next steps. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
TRUTH FOR TODAY
2 Corinthians
5:7, “For we live by believing and not by seeing.” (NLT)
Proverbs 16:9, “In
their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their
steps.” (NIV)
RELATED RESOURCES
How do you help your child get
through pain and sorrow, especially when you might be dealing with your own
grief?
God sees your family's pain and
longs to ease it.
REFLECT AND RESPOND
How can you
practically surrender your child to God? What’s one way you have noticed God
directing the steps of your child this week?
For practical help on the healing
journey, you’ll appreciate Dr. Amy E. Ford’s new book, When Your Child is Grieving: God’s Hope for the Journey Toward Healing,
available at Amazon.com and
all other major book retailers.
CONNECT
Dr. Amy E. Ford
is a licensed professional counselor (specializing in trauma and grief),
university professor and a pastor’s wife. She and her husband have parented six
children together. Find Amy online at authoramyford.com
Enter to WIN
your very own copy of When Your Child is Grieving by
Dr. Amy E. Ford. To celebrate this book, Harvest House is giving away 5 copies!
Enter to win by leaving a comment here.
{We’ll randomly select 5 winners and notify each one in the comments section by
Monday, August 5.}
Amy E. Ford
I write about hard things – stress, pain,
loss, and grief. But I also write about hope, love, beauty, and joy. Because
this is what God designed us for; they are the redemption of the
inevitable darkness that we experience in this lifetime.
It is my sincerest desire that you will find
inspiration and healing in the pages of my books. I wrote them for you. Hope is
always a possibility.
