Roots and Wings part deux

Today we took my baby girl back to school. Clearly, she is not a baby anymore. Samantha Lin is beginning her sophomore year at Huntington University in Indiana. I'm beginning my sophomore year of letting go...
It will always be a struggle...

Most of you who take the time to read this will be, at least, familiar with Samantha, but there are some things only her momma could know. Of course, I'm not going to divulge her deepest darkest secrets. I'm not even sure she has any. Honestly, on the way home I tried to remember the worst thing she had ever done. The only thing I could come up with was, in the third grade, when she used her own money to buy $5.00 worth of gel pens from the school store. She thought she would get in trouble for spending her money so she told us someone gave them to her. That's it...that's our horror story. Oh, she drank once too...communion wine...on a mission trip to Bulgaria. She's the kind of kid that makes her younger siblings angry because "I know, I know, Samantha never does anything wrong." Which is, while inaccurate, not far off. Suffice it to say, she's a good kid...correction...she was a good kid...now she's an adult.

Sometimes I'm hard on my girl. I want her to work more, try harder, stand up straight... you know the drill. I just want the world to see what I see. But, I see her from the inside out. She has a heart for people that is undeniable. She is, hands down, one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. She has suffered plenty. Not physically or even mentally...but sometimes the world is a tough place for a nice person. She was never part of the "in crowd" and never seemed to be anyone's first choice. Having been through it all, I was able to tell her that it wouldn't matter forever...life is not like high school. Except for sometimes when it is. Life is predictably unpredictable.







So I've had to apologize a lot more lately. Because, God's been opening my heart and letting me know that she's not mine anymore...I've done my job and she is His perfect creation. I'm still here to love her and nobody could stop me from doing that. Now that she's a grown up, I get to be her friend also, which makes me feel so blessed. But, I do have to let go. Not to give her to the world, but to give her to God, her father. To see her through His eyes. To know that He has a plan for her. To step back, just a bit, and let her handle it on her own. It won't be easy...but, as I said, I'm only a sophomore at letting go so I've got some room to grow as well.






Not everyone will take the time to get to know this young lady...but, the world is a better place because she's in it. I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom...well, maybe I am...but I'm also correct.



They are all good kids, but today is Samantha's day. Today is the day I want the world to know that it is possible to love God, love your family, follow the rules and still have fun in life. If you want to know how, just watch her go:-) And if you look back and see me, and I have a little tear in my eye...well...I've earned it. She will, after all, always be my baby.