If your children are very young, brace yourself for the inevitable. We are referring to what’s happening right now during this summer season to parents of late teen and early twenties children. They are doing what you will eventually have to do, that is, let your arrows (children) fly.
At this moment some moms and dads are in the midst of the wedding of a son or a daughter. Others are registering the first of their eldest for college. In both cases the bow of parenting is bent and the strain forms the the limbs into both a smile and a sad frown.
In one moment there are smiles that come from knowing they have instilled enough courage in their child to step off the edge of the nest and fly while in the next moment the tears flow from knowing a room will soon be empty in their house.
Having “been there and endured that,” the number one bit of advice we offer to parents of small children is…now is the time, while they’re youngsters, to determine that the target for your arrows is a life of knowing the Lord and doing His will.
Through loving and diligent discipline, spending quantities of time with them that leads to quality time, and being mindful to always point them to the truths in God’s written word, you can trust that the painful bending of your heart that is required to release them will result in them hitting the target of a Godly life. Nothing else matters! Why? Because if your little arrows fly to a life committed to knowing Christ and seeking His kingdom then “all these things (such as career, spouse, vocation, etc) will be added” to them.
May God bless you as you watch your arrows fly…and may these words and melody encourage you to prepare for the inevitable release.
Steve & Annie
