WHEN YOUR CHILD WALKS AWAY
CHAPTER ONE
Two Truths You Must Remember When the world seems to be spinning with the loss of a child’s faith, there are two truths we must cling to. They do not erase the pain. They steady us inside of it. Truth One — There is a difference between responsibility and control You were given responsibility for your child during their growing-up years. You were never given control. Scripture did not say, “Train up a child and they will always choose rightly.” It said, “Train up a child in the way he should go.” “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” — Proverbs 22:6 The end of that verse is a proverb, not a promise. Focus on the second part of the phrase: in the way he should go. Your calling was faithfulness, not guaranteed outcomes. Think about it biblically for a moment. Adam had a perfect Father, perfect communication with that Father, and a perfect environment — and yet he still chose sin. Samuel was a prophet of old who led the nation faithfully, yet his sons did not follow him. The prodigal son walked away from a loving home — and yet, in the end, he returned. A child’s wandering is not automatic proof of a parent’s failure.
“A child's wandering is not automatic proof of a parent's failure.”
When I counsel parents, I often say it this way: you are one hundred percent responsible for what you are one hundred percent responsible for. Bear that. You were not a perfect parent. Neither was I. Own what is yours. But do not carry the weight that is not yours. You are accountable for your obedience, not for your child’s response. Naming that distinction begins to lift the crushing false guilt many parents carry.
Word of Life Fellowship • 3
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