From Tightly to Lightly by David Jeremiah

Friday, December 30

From Tightly to Lightly 

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 
Genesis 2:24 

Recommended Reading Psalm 128:1-6

The Pew Research Center has noted that, for the first time in 130 years, more young adults (ages 18-34) are living in their parents’ home than in any other setting (32.1 percent as of 2014). Some left to go to college and returned, while some never left at all. While there can be practical reasons for this arrangement, it has the effect of blurring the line between childhood and adulthood. 

Genesis 2:24 uses a key word to describe what eventually should happen: “leave.” That verse refers to a young couple leaving their parents to be married, but it also suggests something parents must prepare for: their children leaving the nest. The job of parenting is multifaceted, but it can be summarized as the process of preparing children to leave. Parenting is teaching children the slow process of transferring trust and dependency from parents to God—learning to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Wherever your children or grandchildren are in their life journey, make sure you are transitioning from holding them tightly as children to holding them lightly as young adults.

The surest way to make life hard for your children is to make it soft for them. 
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