Recently, a friend and I were laughing about how hard it has been to keep my fun-loving kids alive—particularly the first one. You know, the one with no concept of fear or self-preservation.
One story in particular stands out.
He was about eight when a new family moved into the neighborhood. One afternoon, he came home from a bike ride with a harrowing tale. Only harrowing for me, of course. He was as calm as ever.
He said there was a busted sprinkler head spraying like a geyser in their yard, so he knocked on the door to tell them. Whoever answered didn’t know how to shut it off. My kid said he knew how to and described where the controls probably were in the garage.
This was the part where I tried to keep my face neutral—smiling even—while every maternal instinct in me screamed NOOOOOPE.
The eight-year-old met the neighbors in the alley at their garage door, and they lifted him over their assortment of moving boxes to get to the sprinkler control panel. He shut off the water, and they helped him back over the wall of boxes. I kept my abject horror in check and commended his resourcefulness while reminding him of stranger danger. Then I said a prayer of thanksgiving that God had protected him.
Fast forward a few weeks. An older lady waved me down to tell me what an amazing son I was raising. She told me how he’d saved them hundreds of dollars in water fees by pointing out their broken sprinkler and turning it off for them. She said he was her little savior that day, and she didn’t know what she would’ve done without him. In that moment, I felt God nudge my anxious, control-loving heart.
See? I’ve got this.
He reminded me that if I truly wanted to raise world-changers, I had to be willing to let them step into the world—and yes, even occasionally interact with strangers—to use the gifts He gave them.
Now, let me be clear, I am not suggesting you send your kids into random garages. Had I known about the sprinkler incident beforehand, their yard would’ve flooded, and they’d be footing a massive water bill. Because just no.
But I certain our kids belong to God first, and we can trust Him to do immeasurably more in their lives than we could orchestrate ourselves. If we intend to raise kids who aren’t afraid to walk on water with Jesus the way Peter did, we have to let go of them when they try and climb out of the boat.