When You Don't Want to Trust Others with Your Child

The first time I had to leave my child with a sitter, I brought enough bottles of milk to feed a small baby army, packed six changes of clothes for a half day away from me, and silently scanned the home with the trained eye of a CSI agent looking for suspicious activity. Grandmas can be dangerous, you know.

The truth is, moms are often put in positions that they would rather not be in. Positions where we have to trust others to play a part in our children’s lives—when honestly, we’d rather do anything but:

• Like the first time you drop your child at daycare or the nursery
• Like the first time your child enters the hallway full of tiny people at school and goes into a classroom without you
• Like the first time you have to rely on a doctor to correctly diagnose and then fix a problem
• Like the first time as a single parent that you have to allow your ex care for your child alone

It can be a scary thing, this letting go. And, I don’t care how many times you sing that adorable song, or add a snowman to the mix, it doesn’t make it any easier.

• What it more likely does is strike fear in the heart of a mom:
• What if something goes wrong and no one is there for your child like you would be?
• What if the person in charge of their care makes a poor decision that jeopardizes them in some way?
• What if they are scared, and alone, and cry out but no one hears them?

It’s enough to make me want to build a bubble around my home at times. And, believe it or not, I’ve been a mother for 16 years. You’d think I’d have a handle on this by now, right? But, I don’t. And, I’m fairly certain at this point that I never will.

But, what I do have a grip on is this:

My belief that my children are not just my own, but God’s as well.

And in that belief is enough promise to help me get my mind around the things I fear most:

• Because I know that He is there to care for and protect my child in ways that no one else can.
• Because I know that other’s decisions about my child will never trump God’s plan for them.
• Because I know that while I may be out of reach, God never is.
• Not only that, but He’s there in the same way for me. To walk with me through the times that I fear. To show me that He is in control. To hold me when I feel alone in it all.

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91: 1-2

And that, is worth putting my trust in, sweet friend.

Do you trust Him with your child?

Laura Polk is a writer, speaker, and textile designer residing in North Carolina with her three children. Since becoming a single mom, her passion to minister to this group has led her to encourage successful single mom living through The Christian Single Mom on Facebook. Follow her journey through her blog or get a glimpse into her quirky thoughts and inspirations for design and writing on Pinterest.

Publication date: October 9, 2015