WHEN YOUR CHILD WALKS AWAY
The pursuit never actually satisfies — it only deepens the discontent. And the fallout damages the relationships around them, including their relationship with you.
“What they are pursuing will never bring satisfaction. It will only bring more discontentment.”
The cycle in you Here is where I want to slow down. Because you, too, can fall into a version of this same cycle — often without realizing it. A parent who is grieving a wandering child can elevate a good desire — their return — to the position of an idol. The thought becomes: if only they come back, then I will be content. If only they return to the Lord, then I will be able to rest. There is a real place for lamenting. There is no place for letting a good desire become the thing you cannot live without. That kind of discontent poisons your marriage. It poisons your other children. It poisons your service in the church. It poisons your prayers. You become unable to offer your child the steady, un-grasping love they actually need from you. A better prayer So pray this way, slowly, as many times as you need to: Lord, I want them back. And Lord, even if you are not ready to bring them back today, you are enough. You have been enough every day I have served you. You will be enough tomorrow. That prayer does not dull the grief. It keeps the grief from becoming an idol.
For Reflection Q1.
Where do you see the four-part cycle — passions, desire, coveting, fighting — in
your child’s life right now?
Q2. Q3.
Where do you see a version of that cycle in your own heart as a grieving parent? What good desire have you elevated into an idol? What would it look like to lay
it back down this week?
Word of Life Fellowship • 11
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