Topic: Christian Living / Situational, Bible Characters

The baby was coming. The exhausted mother looked up at the nurse and asked, "Is the hard part over?" Replied the RN, "Honey, the hard part is the next 18 years."

Many parents have discovered that parenting doesn't stop when a child turns 18, it just moves into a different phase. And, would you believe, sometimes that can be the most difficult part of parenting.

What Does God Say?

A wise child brings joy to a father;
a foolish child brings grief to a mother (Proverbs 10:1, NLT).

King David experienced that kind of wrenching grief firsthand when his son, Absalom, tried to take over as leader of the nation and was killed:

"The king was overcome with emotion. He went up to his room over the gateway and burst into tears. And as he went, he cried, 'O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom!'" (2 Samuel 18:33, NLT).

Jesus gave us a picture of a hurting parent, too, in a parable we know as the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

"A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, 'I want my share of your estate now before you die.' So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
"A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living" (Luke 15:11-13, NLT).
To get a better understanding of the moments you just read about, look at 2 Samuel 15-18 and Luke 15:11-32 and answer the following questions:

1. From your reading of these verses, what kind of a person would you say Absalom is?

2. What about the prodigal? Does the Scripture give you any indication what kind of character the prodigal had?

3. Which child gave his parent the most opportunity to respond?

4. How was the response David gave to Absalom different from the response the father gave to the prodigal?

5. How did the story of Absalom end?

6. How did the story of the prodigal end?

The story of Absalom and the Parable of the Prodigal Son both involve
hurting parents. Perhaps, you find yourself in the same place today--your heart is breaking because of the choices of one of your children.

What should you, as a parent, do? What can you do?

Watch
Wait patiently
Pray

Waiting patiently is painful and difficult, but you don't have to do nothing while you wait. Here are some tips to help you while you wait.

My Thoughts

My Thoughts

Realize that no matter how much you love the prodigal, God loves him more.

Remember that God knows how you feel. Our Heavenly Father grieves over those who have gone away.

Pray. And then pray again. Finally, pray some more. Pray for the prodigal, pray for yourself and pray for a homecoming where there will be joy overflowing, love abounding and grace abundant.

Certain Scriptures might comfort and encourage you as you wait. Try reading Psalm 46 and Philippians 4 during your quiet time.

Look at your own life and make sure that you are not holding on to the hurt your child has caused you--that you will be willing to forgive and restore the relationship when your child approaches you.

Ask God to give you some specifics to pray for concerning your child, write them down and pray faithfully about those things.

My Part

What if you are the prodigal? What should you do to restore that broken relationship? Do what the Prodigal Son did--return home to your mom and dad:

"'I will go home to my father and say, 'Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.'

"So he returned home to his father" (Luke 15:18-20, NLT).

Write down four things the prodigal did to return home and restore the relationship with his father.