WHAT'S BEHIND A MOM'S STRUGGLE TO LET GO?

Here's some more food for thought if the empty nest blues are looming, or you're already in them.While some moms celebrate this new stage of their lives, others struggle, at least for a time. Is that you? With Mother's Day tomorrow, is it a bittersweet time remembering those years when your kids needed you and thought you were the greatest person on earth? And now? It can hurt when our teens seem to have moved on and can't wait to get out of the nest.But What's Happening?You are going through a normal transition that involves a loss of the familiar. You are trading one form of family life for something yet unexperienced. Let yourself grieve! You're normal!Loosening of the Mother-Child Bond.One mom of two teens looked ahead a few years and sighed, "I love my boys so much, I can't imagine what it will be like when they're gone." Loving our children and being loved by them is what God intended. This love--a tough, flexible bond--knits the family together despite the clashes, power struggles, and hurtful words that often mark the teenage years.However, no matter how much we love our children, they are essentially on loan from God. We don't own them or have the right to live their lives for them. Our task is to prepare them for life.Next time I'll blog about our fears for our children and whether we were the "perfect" parent!