What do you do when your adult children do not make the decisions you would like them to make?
My friend told me about her daughter, who has moved in with her boyfriend and is behaving strangely. I could sympathize with her as I listened to her story. We are both moms of grown children, and we have both had to realize that our adult children make major life decisions that differ from ours or act in ways that are not in their best interests. And when things don’t go as planned, whether due to a poor choice made by a child or a tough circumstance, we get concerned about what the future may hold for our children. Is God truly in control of this?
I’ve been in those difficult emotional places with my adult son, seeing him navigate shaky romantic relationships, disappointing job hunts, health issues, and various obstacles. There have been numerous moments when believing God has been difficult. Even if it’s difficult to understand how it might happen, the Bible declares that God will complete the good work that He began.
God knows our adult children in ways we don’t, so we must have faith that He is working in their lives. The promises of Scripture, I discovered, are the best ways to anchor this confidence. “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). No, this isn’t some sort of guarantee that we can simply slap a Bible verse on a request; rather, if you know you placed the Word in that Child, trust God that the Word will manifest in their lives in His sovereign season.
We pray in line with those principles after we have done what the Word teaches, and we must recognize that God’s ways are higher than ours. I don’t know what the future holds for my son, but when I consider how and when he will commit his life to Christ and live in God’s purpose and plan for his life, I recall the parable of the Prodigal Son. We must let our children go through their journey and “come to themselves,” just like the Prodigal Son came to himself (Luke 15:17-20).
Author: Kim Petitt
Kim Petitt holds a graduate degree in psychology. She holds a bachelors in communication and a associates degree in business administration with a concentration in office management. She is the mother of a twenty + year old male.
The journey of motherhood for Kim is quite unique being that she was a teen mom and living with a physical disability. The challenges she faced caused her emotional pain and loneliness, but because of her faith and relationship with God she didn’t give up and continues to overcome through Christ. Her heart’s desire is to reach out to teenage girls and young moms and women from all walks of life to teach them how to overcome their own personal challenges that keep them from loving God and themselves.
You can connect with kim by visiting her blog @kimpetitt09
Thank you for sharing!
My plesure. Thanks for stopping by!
Great reminder, timely!
Thanks for reading!
“God knows our adult children in ways we don’t, so we must have faith that He is working in their lives.” —This is so true!