Letting Go

Ok, lets be real for a minute.

Kids grow up way too fast.

One of the hardest things to do as a mom is letting our kids grow up, take chances, do things independently.

The following picture is the poster for this concept.

AND in case you wondered, yes, that is Jacob.

My Jacob.

My youngest.

The baby of the family.

Boarding a train.... by himself.

Flying solo.

In a foreign country.

Only possessing a limited amount of Chinese.

What? 

Are you crazy? 

What were you thinking?

Three years ago, if you had told me Jacob would be traveling through Taiwan on his own, I would have laughed. But that's exactly what happened.

After our OMS retreat, Jacob boarded a train in Hualien to join a friend and his family who live farther south in the city of Taitung. This is the same friend he visited during our fall break back in October. This being his third train experience, he felt comfortable traveling alone.

Several factors made Mom curve her natural instinct to hold onto her youngest.

1. It was a direct route.

2. We were allowed to walk him right up to the train.

3. He is the most train experienced person n the family!

4. Taiwan is camera crazy. Cameras are everywhere leading to....

 Low crime. Taiwan is the second safest place in the world to live (Japan is the first).

And finally....

Because even when I am not in control, God is!

When Carl and I returned to the van, Abbi and Ben wanted to know if I had cried. 

"Of course not!" was my hearty reply, but if they had looked closely they would have seen tiny pools of memories shining in my eyes!

Letting go is much easier said than done!

By the way, he arrived safely.