Today I understand that though I care for my children in a thousand different ways and have more impact on their lives than anyone, I remain essentially powerless. Who they are will ultimately be up to them. I can guide them, influence them and give them acceptance and love. I understand that my children were, are and always will be in God's hands. One of my important jobs as parent is to help them get in touch with their own internal healer, strength and Higher Power so that if they fall when I am not there to pick them up, they will be able to do that for themselves.

I accept my powerlessness over my children. Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

--Kahlil Gibran