A Prayer for the “Basket” Season of an Adult Child - Your Daily Prayer - September 5

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A Prayer for the “Basket” Season of an Adult Child
By Rachel Wojo

Bible Reading
"But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile." – Exodus 2:3

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Each time I’ve gone down to the basement in the last couple of months, there are more boxes. Some were half-packed, and others taped tightly. My daughter’s life is being sorted into cardboard as she prepares to marry the man of her dreams.

There’s kitchen stuff and wedding gifts. The piles keep growing, and each one seems to shout at me, “This is really happening.”

Although my teens and adult kids all do their own laundry, I sometimes choose to pull it from the dryer and fold it, just to have the luxury once more. I’ve always prayed over laundry, usually for the ones whose clothing I’m folding. It feels like sacred work.

But as I fold, a question rises up from deep places in my heart. Was it enough? All that her father and I tried to teach her. Did we prepare her for a life that we won’t be standing in the middle of anymore? I find myself rehearsing things I want to remember or lessons I hope she caught on to. There are ordinary days that we don’t get back to do over.

The boxes seem to mock these thoughts.

If you’ve raised a child to the point of leaving the nest, you know what I’m talking about. Whether it’s a wedding, a dorm room, or a first apartment, the pain is strange. Maybe the move is a child who is drifting from the faith you spent years cultivating. The grief you are grieving isn’t from a move across town or to another state, but a move much bigger. Miles away from God.

In Exodus 2, Jochebed, the mother of Moses, was forced to leave a baby she could not keep safe. She had built a boat basket, making sure that it would float. Can you imagine the care she took to waterproof this boat for the baby whose life had already been spared by the midwife? But after making the boat and carefully placing her little one in it, she had to do something that caused me to pause and think.

She had to let go of the basket.

I’m guessing that her hands just might have been shaking as she did this. Maybe she waded into the river as far as she could before letting go. We don’t know if she lost sleep the night before, but I’m guessing she did.  She placed her son in the river where Pharaoh was placing all the baby boys. Only hers was on top of the water.

I imagine Jochabed tested her little basket boat. She probably threw some cabbage heads into it to test its weight in the water before entrusting it to hold her baby. My point is that she prepared and did her part, but she did have to let go. Some of us know the Bible story, and we know that it wasn’t the basket that truly held Moses. He was in the palm of God’s hand.

It’s easy to think that our children and their future are riding on whether or not we did enough or said enough. But God is the One holding and carrying the basket. If your child is in a river that scares you right now, know that the same God who watched over baby Moses is watching over your “baby.”

This season is not the last, but you did what you could, and now it’s time to take your hands off the basket. Your God never takes His eyes off His children. He is worthy of our trust.  

Let's Pray

Heavenly Father,

I want to give you the boxes in the basement. While packing up a life to be in a place where I won’t be is the challenge, I need You to hush the questions. Did I do enough to help my child, the one You gave me, for all the days ahead? No, but I give it all to you.

Forgive me for living like my child’s future rests in my hands instead of Yours. I have a tendency to act like the basket is all mine. But You watch the river. You had my child before I did, and You hold them long after they leave my house.

Help me do what Jochebed did and take my hands off the basket. Please steady my heart when letting go feels like far too much. Lord, remind me that You never take Your eyes off the water. I trust You with what I cannot follow.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Share your reflections on today’s devotional in the Your Daily Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

Don’t miss this:

If you're still praying and starting to wonder if it's working, I wrote Praying Through Life's Battles: 90 Days to Strengthen Your Faith for you. You can preorder it now at battleprayers.com. Until next time, remember, God sees you, hears you, and He knows your needs.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/BibleArtLibrary

Rachel Wojo is an inspirational author, public speaker, and podcaster known for her popular blog, rachelwojo.com. Through her biblical approach and personal life experiences, Rachel empowers women to discover strength and hope in everyday situations. Despite enduring the loss of her mother, adult special needs daughter, and father, Rachel remains resilient. She has authored the uplifting book,  Desperate Prayers: Embracing the Power of Prayer in Life's Darkest Moments  and a new beautiful, spiral-bound prayer journal, Praying the Promises of God, Rachel is crazy in love with her husband, Matt, and cherishes her motherhood with six children on earth and two in heaven.

Related Resource: Praying Through Life’s Battles

What battle are you carrying today?

Maybe it is an unanswered prayer, a painful loss, a strained relationship, a health concern, or a circumstance that feels far beyond your control. When life feels overwhelming, we can become so consumed by our emotions—or so busy trying to fix everything ourselves—that prayer is often one of the first things we neglect.

This week on The Love Offering Podcast, my friend Rachel Wojo joins me to talk about her new 90-day devotional, Praying Through Life’s Battles. Drawing from her experience of loving and losing her daughter, Taylor, Rachel shares how prayer has sustained her through unimaginable grief and reminded her that she never faces life’s battles alone.

If you like what you hear, be sure to follow The Love Offering on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!