Wind-up Toys

Today as I was driving my son to school, I started thinking about how children are like wind-up toys. As the parents, we spend their whole childhood making sure their feet are positioned correctly underneath them. We diligently try to remove all obstacles that may make them stumble or fall. We tweak the knob in the back ever-so-slightly each day to build them up and get them ready for the long journey that lies ahead. We pray that they are wound tightly with the roots from which they've grown. And then finally, the day arrives to let them go. We set them out on their own, ready to walk. It is our hope that as they walk away, those roots don't unravel too much.