Holding Them with Open Hands

    Not long after our firstborn came into this world, I sat on our sofa in the lounge, gazing at the precious face of our son. As I sat there, I thought about how good God had been to us by entrusting us with Ruan and thanked Him for this sweet blessing. Deon walked in shortly after and, noticing I was deep in thought, asked what I’d been thinking about. I told him, and he agreed, but then what he said next sent me into a wave of emotions: “Just think, in 18 years, he’ll be a grown man and ready to leave home!”

    That comment did not sit well with me at all. I burst into tears. I had only just met this tiny human, barely figured out which cry meant “I’m hungry” and which meant “I just feel like being dramatic,” and now my husband was fast-forwarding to him packing up and leaving? The thought—well, to be honest—absolutely frightened me. I suddenly realised how quickly the years could fly by, and I was nowhere near ready to share my baby with the future.

    As I reflected on this, I realised many young mothers can relate to how, during the first year of their baby’s life, they become aware of how quickly time passes—from early-morning feedings to the baby’s first solid foods, and from rolling over to crawling and eventually walking. It often leads one to wish that time could somehow be slowed down. I recall a period in each of my three children’s lives when I wondered how I would teach them everything they needed to know before they left the comfort and security of our home. It seemed impossible—truly unattainable—until I was reminded of the mothers described by the Lord in His Word. In their culture and time, children were regarded as adults at the age of twelve. How much shorter the time they had with their children, and yet God enabled them to raise their children to know Him.

    Hannah’s story in 1 Samuel 1–2 shows this truth in a striking way. In her deep anguish, she pleaded with the Lord for a son and vowed that if He granted her request, she would give that child back to Him all the days of his life (1 Samuel 1:11). When God answered her prayer, and Samuel was born, Hannah did not cling to him as her own possession. Instead, she remembered her promise and, in faith, brought Samuel to the house of the Lord and entrusted him to God’s service. Hannah understood that Samuel ultimately belonged to the Lord, not to her. Her willingness to give him back offers a beautiful picture of what it looks like to parent by faith: we receive our children as a gracious gift from God, and then, day by day, we surrender them to His purposes, trusting that He loves them even more than we do.

    As mothers, we still feel the ache of time slipping through our fingers and the weight of all we long to give our children. Yet Hannah’s story reminds us that our hope is not in having endless years or perfect wisdom, but in entrusting our sons and daughters to the God who gave them to us in the first place. He is faithful in every season—from sleepless nights with newborns to the day they step out into the world. This Mother’s Day, may you be encouraged to hold your children with open hands, to walk in daily dependence on the Lord, and to rest in the truth that He loves them, sees them, and is at work in their lives even when you cannot be. Your labour in the Lord is not in vain, and He will be faithful both to you and to your children.

“There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: 

neither is there any rock like our God.”

 1 Samuel 2:2