They come, and they go. Watching adult children leave (again) is much more difficult than when you first received them from the Lord so tiny and new. You were assaulted by love then, initiated into a passionate and protective love that you never even knew existed. That love gave you your first glimpse of the kind of love God the Father has for his children.
Smitten and afflicted with adoration, you cooed over their every whimper and sigh. You fell in love. You rocked. You went without sleep. You held them night and day. Man, oh man! was it difficult to adjust to a new baby…one, two, three, four, five, six times. But, it’s much more painful when your home is no longer theirs.
Every single time, it hurts to watch them leave. One just left, and my heart spills over with mother-love. They came. They saw. They conquered our hearts. We did the best we could. They grew up. They are gone. Only one remains, the college girl we hardly ever see. It literally happened that fast. Poof! They’re gone. 
When you’re in the middle of thirty-six years of parenting, those days when no one is civilized yet (neither you nor the children) are difficult and stretching and revelatory. You come face to face with your sinful selfishness and immaturity as you attempt to be the parent.
But all of a sudden, your sons tower over you, and your daughters are women. They’re cultured and savvy and better educated than you. You ask for their input, and they advise you. You’re in the front row at their wedding. They’re blasting off to the other side of the world. They are parents. They’re more courageous than you could ever dream of being. They’re out there saving the world, learning to fly airplanes, rescuing sex-trafficked orphans, working their way through college, planting churches, and getting graduate degrees.
Amazing! How did this happen so fast?
So, if you’re buried in parenting small children, if your days seem long and you think you’ll lose your mind if you have to wipe another bottom or clean up vomit one more time, look at this picture. You will be watching this sight before you know it.
There goes one. 
You’ll be a consultant, not the responsible party. You’ll watch them load up, fighting back the tears, heart in your throat. They’ll hug and wave and drive off to their rich, full, and challenging adult lives. You’ll feel so proud of them, so pleased at the men and women they have become.
Your heart will spill over. You’ll turn and walk slowly back into the house. And then you’ll cry. Cherish those children. They are a gift from God.
Yep! That’s the way it happens! I’ve never left you without tears as I enter the airport after you have dropped me off. Every time I see you drive away or leave you at the airport, it is the same way. We long for the day when we won’t be torn apart by departures. We long to be with those we love whether they were our children or the children of our children. Still my hope remains in Christ alone for your safety, but more than that for you to safely arrive in heaven–all of you! So my prayer is that God, out of His glorious riches, would strengthen my three daughters, their husbands, their children, and children’s children by the power of His Spirit so that Christ will dwell in each heart by faith. Then, the Day will come when we shall all be at home with The Lord, never more to have to leave!!!
And won’t that be a glorious day, dear Momma!
Melinda, I can’t see the page as I type; tears block my view! You have expressed this so well and so beautifully!
I am VERY impressed with how God teaches us SO MUCH as we raise children: our selfishness, our need for a Savior, our need for an Advisor, our need for Strength, and our need for Grace! He becomes all that and SO MUCH more through Jesus Christ our Lord! Our Precious heavenly Father, the Perfect Parent, does show us His love and His example of what a parent is! We come to love Him more and come to love our children because it is actually HE Who puts that love in our hearts for our children! Look at the heart of a momma hugging her child, and you are looking at the heart of God, who has given her HIS own heart!
Thanks, Melinda!!!
Love you,
Aunt Jackie
Actually, we don’t just “come to love our children”! We love them from the start before we even see them! God has planned it that way … amazing love and amazing grace!
Parenthood is a school for grasping the smallest glimmer of how much God loves us. When I consider how deeply I love my children, and recognize that God loves me and them far more, even planning from before time to redeem the mess he knew we would make of things, I am bowled over with gratitude and praise to our loving God.
You are so right, Melinda! His love, his mercy, and his plans are FAR too great for us to comprehend!