Letting go. These are difficult...
Illustration
"Letting go." These are difficult words for anybody. They are particularly difficult for parents. At some point the process must intentionally be developed in parents as children move through stages of growing up.
A third-grade school teacher has arranged the classroom in groups of desks. In the middle of each cluster of desks, amid the piles of books, papers and pencils, are stacked stuffed animals. Teddy bears, lions, shaggy dogs. What are things of younger days doing in a classroom? Says the teacher, "Growing up is a long process. It is something both adults and children need to work through together. Here they have represented the entire range of choices they must make as growing continues. Security and challenge are both available to them."
Letting go is traumatically presented in this biblical passage about Jesus' stay in Jerusalem. These words show the back-and-forth struggles of parents and child to grow up. Jesus asserts his authoritative reasons for staying behind. His parents counter with their worries. And the writer concludes he was obedient and grew in wisdom. Mary, like any parent, does not forget this.
The Jerusalem episode speaks to those places in each of us that demand a "letting go" for new allegiance.
--Hedahl
A third-grade school teacher has arranged the classroom in groups of desks. In the middle of each cluster of desks, amid the piles of books, papers and pencils, are stacked stuffed animals. Teddy bears, lions, shaggy dogs. What are things of younger days doing in a classroom? Says the teacher, "Growing up is a long process. It is something both adults and children need to work through together. Here they have represented the entire range of choices they must make as growing continues. Security and challenge are both available to them."
Letting go is traumatically presented in this biblical passage about Jesus' stay in Jerusalem. These words show the back-and-forth struggles of parents and child to grow up. Jesus asserts his authoritative reasons for staying behind. His parents counter with their worries. And the writer concludes he was obedient and grew in wisdom. Mary, like any parent, does not forget this.
The Jerusalem episode speaks to those places in each of us that demand a "letting go" for new allegiance.
--Hedahl
