I Wonder What They're Doing Now- for parents when the children are gone

Next week my remaining children at home will all be away at summer camp. I will have one week of being an empty nester. Several families from my church will be experiencing the same, as we send our children off to camp together. How many times will we think over the week to come, "I wonder what the children are doing now?" Of course many parents will also find that when their children are gone, they will have lots of time to catch up on their individual needs, and maybe even enjoy having their spouse alone for the brief time, but at some point they'll ask themselves, "I wonder what they're doing now?"
My husband and I are both the type of people who enjoy spending most of our time around our children, and with two of our children grown and independent, we cherish those times when everyone is home. It is natural for us to miss them when they go away, but it is also natural to gradually let go and release them to grow up.
All parents are familiar with watching our children experience separation anxiety at those baby stages, when simply venturing into a different room, or handing our baby to another person to carry creates reluctance to terror in the child, to varying degrees depending on the child's own temperament. What we hate to admit is our own separation anxiety. How hard is it to the mother who goes out to work and entrusts a sitter or child care provider? The mother who is home full time with her child may experience it for the first time when she leaves child to go to an appointment, or in social or church settings where nursery care is becoming more and more popular, or even that first day of school. Whatever the situation is, at some point we separate from our children and experience to a degree of letting go.
Children have different needs and so do parents in how they experience being apart. My first two children were as opposite as night and day when it came to being apart from my husband and I. The oldest had an independent and fearless spirit very young, but his brother was very uncomfortable away from us. I've also seen in my friends so many varying levels and attitudes about how they respond to time away from their children. For some, it's necessity, they need to work and need to adapt to being away from a child. Others are so uncomfortable about the whole idea that their lifestyles have centered upon the time spent with their children. We all have different needs and comfort levels, but the truth is, Lord willing, every child will grow up and become his own. Every parent in turn lets go.
I have come to the point in my life where I am comfortable with the idea of what I call releasing my children. It wasn't always so, I think I may have even been on the more extreme side of not wanting to be away from my children. My reason for this change is most probably in the spiritual comfort I take as a mother who has had to completely release her child. Almost 10 years ago we had a child born with a fatal birth defect who only spent a week with us. It was life-changing. My whole understanding of children being a gift of God grew, and so did my understanding that they truly belong to Him. He entrusts me with them for a time- His time, and I in turn entrust my God with them completely.
What happens in the practical sense of being entrusted and entrusting God in the matter of how we let go of our children? It means taking seriously our jobs as parents to prepare our children and guide them into adulthood, and it also means that when we have done what we are capable of doing, ultimately we will depend on trusting God and His love for them which is greater than ours.
I am not afraid for my children when they are away from my presence. Being away allows them to practice those values which were taught at home. They will have opportunities to mature and learn to make their own decisions. They will be accountable for their actions, whether good or bad. They will tackle challenging issues as they face new ideas that may differ from the ones they learned at home. I risk a great deal as they grow up, because I know they will have different opinions and ideas from those we taught them, but at the same time so much will be even carried to the next generation. I've loved them, taught them, prayed for them, let go of them, and allow God to carry on what needs to be done. Because of this, I can ask myself the question "I wonder what they are doing now?"and ask it with peace and affection in my heart, in a healthy way without fear, but only because I'm a normal mom who will always be thinking of her children.