"Walk Alone"

As Caleb is taking some steps by himself, I have been cherishing these "wobbly" memories. I have also been scouring books as I prepare myself to parent a "toddler" (it makes me sad just to type that word). I came across this beautiful metaphorical illustration of how a mother teaches her child to "walk alone."

"The loving mother teaches her child to walk alone. She is far enough from him so that she cannot actually support him, but she holds out her arms to him. She imitates his movements and if he totters, she swiftly bends as if to seize him, so that the child might believe he is not walking alone...And yet, she does more. Her face beckons like a reward, an encouragement. Thus, the child walks alone with his eyes fixed on his mother's face, not on the difficulties in his way. He supports himself by the arms that do not hold him, and constantly strives towards the refuge in his mother's embrace, little suspecting that in the very same moment that he is emphasizing his need of her, he is proving that he can do without her, because he is walking alone." -Soren Kierkegaard (from the book: Raising Faithful Kids in a Fast-Paced World by Dr. Paul Faulkner)

The best piece of advice I received from my recent readings is that no amount of advice or number of books replaces prayer in the process of raising a child. How often I forget that and think..."if I just read enough books, then I will know exactly how to raise him." I best be getting on my knees even more to ensure that Kevin and I bring our precious boy to the feet of Jesus while he is on loan to us from our Heavenly Father. And through unending prayer, my hope is that God will allow our family circle to be unbroken when we meet in Heaven someday.