Land Your Helicopter

I am a fixer by nature. 

I think on some level every parent is. Of course we hate it when we see our children upset or discouraged. Of course our hearts sink at the sight of their tears and we would give anything to make their sadness disappear. Our natural instinct is to make it all better. So, we jump on that helicopter, swoop in for the rescue and make it all go away. While many times in life we as parents are called to rescue our children, God has been teaching me that there are times when loving them well actually means GROUNDING my helicopter, and not rushing in for the save. He is asking me to trust HIM with my child’s “hard”. 

Pastor Ben Stuart of Passion City Church in Washington DC once told this story:

When my son was a baby, my wife and I used to carry him around a lot; probably because he was our last one. But then we realized it hurts him to always carry him. We will make a weak child. So my love caused me to set him down. Now, I didn’t walk away like “Good luck, here’s a sandwich!” No, I’m right next to him, but I am going to force him to walk, force him to stand on wobbly knees, force him to get up when he falls, force him to tackle a challenge again when he doesn’t want to. 

Not because I am mean, but because I love him.

Dear parents, don’t be afraid of your child’s hard because God will use it as a part of his/her story that will ultimately bring glory to Him. As adults, we face hard things in life. Through it all, God is right there with us, holding our hands. He uses ALL of it to grow us and mature us. He gives us strength, teaches us to persevere, and ultimately uses it to draw us closer to himself. 

Why would we want to take that from our children? 

So, let’s rest in God’s love for our children, and out of our love, let’s know when to “set our children down.”

Written By: Alicia Stickles