rope swing

My husband put up a rope swing a couple of months ago, and I think it's about the most entertainment our house has ever seen. People young and old swing on it, and when I'm doing the dishes I can almost always count on a person or two flying past the window, waving all the way. Sometimes it's a kid of mine, and sometimes it's a full-gown man...You never do know.

When my kids swing, they like to give each other pushes on it so that they go higher. Way higher. Break your neck, closed head trauma higher. And sometimes I have to stop them from going any higher because in good consience I can't allow them to swing so high. But if it's reasonable - like break your tibia but not your skull high - I let them go ahead and swing away. They have fallen, but they typically get back up and swing some more, being more careful not to take a dive to the ground.

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I've been contemplating parenting as of late...Trying to get some insight. My oldest is about to enter middle school, and I'll be the first to say that I. am. afraid.

What am I afraid of? Well, let's see here. I'm afraid that she'll choose bad friends. That she won't have any friends. That she won't be confident. That she'll be over-confident. That she'll get a boyfriend. That she'll never have a boyfriend. That she'll have a bad testimony. That she won't open up to other people. That she'll have a horrible attitude. That she'll smoke or drink. That she'll be deceived into something. That she won't be open to new experiences. That she will be afraid of other people. That she will be taken advantage of. That she won't love the Lord. And on and on and on.

So what's the main thing, what's the goal of this time in her life? I'm trying to focus on this, because if I can find one focus, perhaps the rest will fall away. My goal for her during these next few years is that she will start to see a glimpse of the person God wants her to be, and that she will want to be that person - a person with her own style, her own beliefs, and her own personality. The thing is, I don't think that objective will be met without letting her feel things out on her own. She has to be allowed to trial-and-error certain aspects of her life, and as scary as it is for me, there will be times that I have to watch and wait in prayer while she makes more of her own decisions.

The profound connection between the rope swing and my daughter entering junior high? Falling. She will fall. Over and over and over. Of course I will pray, and I will do my best to prevent some of it from happening. I will guide her. I will warn her. I will do my best to protect her. But still she will fall. There will be times that I see the fall coming and allow it to happen. On purpose. My job will then be to teach her to get up. Over and over and over. My job will be to teach her that a big fall isn't the end of the world. My job will be to show her that where sin abounds, grace also abounds. And by the end of this time in her life, hopefully there will be less falling and more swinging.

So here we go, getting ready for this next leap...We are taking a deep breath and looking forward all of the ups and downs.