Letting Go of Tori

As it relates to yesterday’s post, I would like to say: my Tori graduates in two weks.

Tori has been a remarkable delight in my life and in our family. She is quirky and compelling in ways that I’m still discovering. She is – simply put – a treasure, and I wonder sometimes what God thinks He’s doing in asking me to take her to a strange city and plunk her down in the middle of a strange college (believe me I know, I went there myself), and just walk away.

I wrestle with the desire to go ahead of her and explain to people that she’s deeper than they’ll realize at first. I’d like them to understand her love of Oscar Wilde and science fiction and poetry and – yes, even Disney princesses. I want to assure them that though not everyone gets her right at first, those who do are awfully glad they did. I’d tell them that Tori is one of those people who is comfortable in her own company. She’s a girl who doesn’t care much at all about appearances and she doesn’t do pretense and that sometimes gets her in trouble. I really want to just put her under glass and keep her here with me because I am the one that understands. But God keeps saying no to me. He keeps prying my fingers off of her destiny and saying, “You don’t know the whole story, Bo. You don’t know the future I have planned or the potential yet to be unleashed and the multiplying I will do as you let the seeds of her life parachute away from your care and into Mine.”

So, let go I will. And I will trust that the same breeze that blows her into the wild life He has for her, will also occasionally bring her back home. And if the breeze doesn’t bring her back to Bend, her cell phone will.

Not-so-gracefully letting go,

Bo