September is here—which means some of you have recently moved a son or daughter into a college dorm for the first time. It’s natural and healthy to feel a sense of loss, but don’t allow your child’s new adventure to become a source of fear and anxiety for you. Commit to surrender him/her to God daily while leaving no room for fear. At first you might have to “put on a brave face” that you don’t entirely feel, but allow trust in God to take root deeply, until your prayers are no longer frantic lists of concerns and fears and what-ifs, but genuine thanksgiving for God’s providence and sovereignty.

How do you transcend fear when the child you love so much has left the nest? By relinquishing control of your son or daughter’s future to the God who knows all, and by acknowledging that God loves him/her more than you do.

Don’t be temped to feel guilty for not fretting, as though fear is the hallmark of love! Too often, we assume that loving a person necessitates worrying about him or her, but this is a misconception. Love and fear are opposites, not equals.