Surrender

(copied from my 360.yahoo.com blog dated 2/14/08)

I saw a word picture today that I wanted to share. It was the picture of surrender. The source is surprising. I'll tell my story and then share some thoughts.

Every day I take my very young children to daycare. It was my intent to stay home with them until they were in kindergarten, but an opportunity that came out of nowhere caused me to have to find daytime caregivers for my children. I was blessed to find a really great Christian daycare. And, I love my children's teachers. They do so well with my kids. I find myself praying for them every time I think about how much they bless my family. These thoughts are particularly strong since this is Teacher Appreciation Week.

Anyway, the girls do miss me and do not like to see me go in the morning. It's hard for me, too. Especially when they cling to me as tightly as they can. It breaks my heart to break that literal bond between us. Today, was one of those days. My one year old did her NO, NO dance outside the door to her classroom. But when Miss Veronica picked her up, she seemed to surrender to the inevitable. She loves Miss Veronica anyway. My three year old did the same thing, a little differently. When we got to her classroom, her first instinct was to cling. But then she remembered she had a special handmade card to give her teacher. She, too, surrendered to school.

Can you see where I'm going with this? I'm not sure how my mind got here, unless by the Holy Spirit. When I saw my children surrender the comfort of their mommy in order to experience new and wonderful things and to learn, I saw a picture of what our temptation is as adults. We want to cling with all our might to our comfort zones. When someone (like a good friend) or something (like a good book) tries to tear us away from what we know it's painful. We are sad. But when we surrender to what God has in store for us, it turns out to be such a wonderful thing. We learn and grow, just like my children are learning and growing in school.

My challenge today is that you mind your heart closely. If you feel God tugging at you to let go of the old, so he can grow you with the new - give in! It may feel terrifying at first. But, trust me, you won't regret it.

I want to hear your story. When have you been glad that you let go of the old to experience something new? How did God grow you in that situation?