www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/16075

www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/16163

www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/15970

www.bible.com/en/reading-plans/15864

When we have our children we know they are going to one day leave us. Are we ever ready for that day to come? Are we prepared for them to tell us that they are ready to leave home? Are we ever ready to cut the apron strings? Do we ever get over the fact that they want to have their own lives, experience life, make mistakes and learn from them, experience the world around them, and make their own way?

Well, yes and no. Yes we want them to experience all that life has to offer in this world, but no because we cannot live their lives for them, we cannot make their mistakes and learn from them for them, but we must know that we raised them right to make good choices and decisions in life.

All we can do is support them and let them know that we are there should they need us. We can pray for them to be strong and not give up on themselves.

We who are empty nesters need support too. Our child raising days are over. We no longer have to tend to them as we did when they were born. We have our lives back to do what makes us happy, but what is that? We spend our lives being parents so that is all we know. It is hard to bounce back to not raising children.

It takes a lot of doing to find what makes us happy again; don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed raising our children; if I could do it all over again I wouldn’t do anything different.

Yes, it takes a village, but it also takes the Hand of God! We would not be able to raise our children if God we’re not in the picture. He gives us strength in those hard times when we have to stay up with them because of a tummy ache, teething, or just restless and can’t sleep. Those years are what I call “The Growing Years”.

We grow with our children, we get to know them and they get to know us. They learn that they can depend on us all of their lives , just as we depend on God. They learn that we love them just as God loves us. So, no. We never stop being parents even after they are gone and leaves us with an empty nest.