Letting Go

by Deb Toering, LPC, NCC, BCPCC

Deb Toering is a Board Certified Professional Christian Counselor (BCPCC) in private practice at Trinity Family Counseling Center. In addition to working with a wide range of client populations and presenting issues, Deb is also an engaging public speaker. She has spoken in front of various groups across a range of topics including marriage, bullying, ADHD/ADD, and teen leadership.

How did this happen so fast? Tomorrow you will take your daughter to college. “Wait! Please, could we have just a little more time? One more lunch together? Just one more late night on-the-bed talk?”

The ‘what ifs’ are endless and keep you awake at night. “What if an immature college boy breaks her heart? …and I am not there to comfort her? What if the academic load is too stressful? …and I am not there to encourage her? What if she doesn’t find ‘good’ friends? …and feels lonely? Are my fears normal?” Yes! “Are these intense emotions of sadness and loss natural?” Yes! These feelings and more are all a part of the natural process we parents go through called letting go.

Letting go means releasing your grip or to stop holding on. “But who will hold on if I let go?” Could it be that the One who really holds her loves her more than you? She will need your encouragement to look to the One who can hold her all the time, the One who never goes to sleep and is never too busy. The One who says, “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not, I am the One who helps you.’” [Isaiah 31:13]

Go ahead, loosen that grip. She is in Good Hands!