I have two children; one out of the house, and the other is still here, usually driving me some kind of crazy. :) I became right with God later in my life, and because of that, my youngest has had to make some adjustments as I made adjustments to "our" lives, living right for God. It has not been easy; hasn't been fun; but it has been worth it. My daughter has gotten right with God now, baptized just a few months ago. I couldn't be more proud nor more happy that she made that decision. It's not easy being a teenager in this day and age. Peer pressure is horrible, and at every angle. So, for her to step up and make the decision to devote her life to Christ is HUGE! To get there, however, was a battle.
I made serious adjustments to her TV watching, her computer access, her ability to go places with certain people, etc. To say that she was angry is probably putting it in its mildest forms. She protested at every turn, and I can totally understand. But, I had to stick to my guns and follow through. During one of our many many "talks" over the last few years, I came to this conclusion for her. God gave us free will to choose our way through life as we see fit. My job as her parent was to provide for her "the" way. I was giving her the choice. What do I mean? OK. I called the world's way normal. It's what she considered normal...what all her friends were doing. I told her that she "could" choose to live in the normal world, or she could choose to live in God's world. It was up to her, but at least she would have that choice!!! I was going to give her that choice. Then I went on to explain further what I meant. What she considered normal was riddled with pain and suffering as kids went from relationship to relationship, how they talked, how they dressed, etc. Despite all that, they never seemed very happy. Her best friend at the time was making horrible decisions and my daughter saw first hand the ramifications of them...and really took notice. Man did I use that!!! This girl was SO unhappy and so full of pain and suffered greatly. It broke my daughter's heart. In the end, as a parent, I had to make the decision to show my daughter that there is a better way...a way with less pain, less suffering. Did she like it? No way. Did she want to live this way? Absolutely not! She balked at every step for a long time. She's not perfect, nor will she ever be (at least not until Jesus comes again), but if you could see the beautiful lady now...brings tear to my eyes. She still drives me crazy, she still wishes she could watch whatever she wants, and she still wishes she could do whatever she wants, but when it's all said and done, I think she'll continue to make the right choice and follow God with her life. That would be my supreme accomplishment. That, I think, is the ultimate goal of a parent. I failed with my oldest, miserably, but I have made the right choices with the youngest, and for that, I'm grateful to God, my husband, and my church family. I couldn't have done it without them.
Most of the last few years, I've done all this alone, as my husband has been out of the country on business (lol...he's military). He was gone 10 months in 2009, 4 months in 2010, and will be gone all of 2011 and most of 2012. To say that it's been a struggle is putting it mildly. Loneliness creeps in very quickly, as does satan. God has gotten me through a lot (and I do mean A LOT) in the last year, and will continue to sustain me through the rest of this separation. If I weren't able to cling to Him, I'd not have made it this far. I'd probably be a rolled up ball of blah in the middle of my bedroom floor. I definitely wouldn't have had much care or concern for my daughter's well being, physically or spiritually. Sometimes we don't take time to sit back and take stock of our lives. I don't, but I am right now. Let me tell you, I can see the Hand of God everywhere around me--from my friends at church who check in on me to make sure I'm not balled up in the corner of the bedroom, to my pastor who checks in now and then, to the programs that I am a part of at church, and being able to serve Him by being the sound technician for our church band. It all plays a vital role in getting me through my days/weeks. I get VERY antsy when we don't have a mid-week service at church. I can't imagine not being there on the weekends, and even though the teachings are the same on Saturday and Sunday...I go on both days anyway. I go to see my family, to feel God, to hear His Word. I get something different out of each session I listen to...something I missed the time before. And, it gives me a chance to have my daughter in the church, hearing God's Word, being around other Christian teens, being influenced by something other than "the world." I'm telling you...IT MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE! When you can connect with God through your church family, through teachings, through fellowship, you know you have it made. There isn't anything like it. There is NOTHING like the Body of Christ!
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