Father, we have tried to do things according to Your plan. We have loved her. We have taken her to church and even gone with her. We have taught her Your truths in our home. We have taken every precaution we were aware of in order to insure that Your word would be imbedded into her heart and soul. We have done all that, yet we are still frightened at the idea of her being on her own. We are eager for her to make her own way, but we wonder if we have missed something. We wake up early and lie awake well into the night reliving conversation after conversation hoping we have not forgotten anything. She says she is ready to go, we are not so sure.

Father, as we watch him prepare for these never-again-to-be-repeated activities we struggle with what is ahead. We know we are to "Seek first your Kingdom" and we have tried and continue to do that, and with all our might we have tried to love You and serve You. We have tried, yet we know we have failed many times along the way to live like You would have wanted us to live. We are grateful for the way Your grace has covered us, and Your presence has carried us during those times when we were completely helpless and totally clueless. Father, he says he is ready, but we are not so sure.

Father, we are not doing a very good job in this area of letting go. We thought we were prepared for it. Of course, during those times when she exerts her independent spirit, we think that we may actually be ready for her to be out of the house. Then we think about how it will be when she is gone: her room will be empty, the music will not be too loud, the washing machine will get a rest, and the phone may be for one of us, if it rings at all. She says she is ready, but we are not so sure.

We place our child in Your hands.

Father, in a few days we will hear his name called and he will walk across the stage, receive his diploma, celebrate with his friends and begin to finalize plans to leave in the fall. We will not know where he is all the time. We will not know the friends he will spend time with. His car will not be parked in the driveway. We will go out to eat without him and we will come home without him. Father, he says he is ready, but we are not so sure.

Father, we have prayed for her every day since we realized we were going to have a baby, we have watched her grow, and we have done everything we knew to do to prepare her for what lies ahead. Now, we pray that we have done our job well. We will never know unless we let her go. She says she is ready, but we are not so sure.

Father, we place our child in Your hands. Of that one thing we are sure.

Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it. (Proverbs 22:6)

The Marriage Builder by Larry Crabb An all-new discussion guide has been added to this marriage-enrichment classic.

Tom Norvell is the author of "A Norvell Note." He ministers at the East Brainerd Church of Christ in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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