The Reward and Challenge of Letting Go

There comes a season when parenting shifts from guiding children to admiring the adults they have become

#MindsetMonday • 7:28 a.m. June 8, 2026

There are seasons in life when growth feels exciting. I love those seasons.

Then there are seasons when growth feels a little closer to heartbreak. To second-guess. To stand still while everyone you love keeps moving forward.

Lately, I’ve found myself in that space.

My oldest son is now my business partner. The little boy I threw 1,672,432 batting-practice balls to is now making decisions that shape our future.

My oldest daughter is beginning her residency, stepping into a profession she has worked years to earn. My next daughter is working hard, studying hard, and steadily pursuing her dream of law school. And now my youngest is preparing to head to Massachusetts to chase her passion for dance.

As parents, we spend years teaching our children, as best we can, how to become independent. How to carry themselves. How to walk into the world without needing us quite so much.

Then one day, they do.

If we are fortunate, they keep growing. They keep going. Much farther than we ever could have carried them.

The truth is, this season is emotional. It is exciting and terrifying. Joyful and bittersweet. Some days I feel proud beyond words, so much so that the thought of them can bring tears to my eyes. Other days, I wonder if I taught them enough, loved them enough, encouraged them enough, or prepared them enough.

I suspect every parent asks those questions.

I hope the benchmark was never to be a perfect father. If so, I failed miserably. Maybe the goal was simply to be the best father I could be, given my strengths, weaknesses, knowledge, and ignorance.

Maybe it was to show up. To love deeply. To guide where I could. To apologize when I needed to. To cheer as loudly as possible.

Maybe now it is to pray and trust that the seeds planted will continue to grow long after my influence is no longer the loudest voice in their lives.

Watching your children become who God created them to be is one of life’s greatest rewards. It is also one of life’s greatest acts of surrender.

I guess what I really mean is this: At some point, you stop raising children and start admiring the adults they have become.

So this week, take a moment to appreciate how far they have come. And if you are questioning whether you did enough, remember this: The fact that you still care this much is probably evidence that you did far better than you think.

Our children were never meant to stay in our arms forever.

They were meant to carry our love and lessons into the world.

Perhaps the greatest reward of letting go is seeing that all you poured into them is finally taking flight.